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fhe Mask 
' of Beauty 

By Fanny Lewald. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY 

Mary M. Pleasants. 

;'4LLUSTRATED BY F. A. CARTER. 



THE POPULAR SERIES. 


No. AND Title. 


Author. 


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1— THE OUTCAST OF MILAN Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. 

2— KOLLO OF NOKMANDY Hylvanus Cobb, Jr. 

3— MART SATTEKLEE AMONG THE INDIANS. William O. Stoddard.. 


4— KIT CARSON’S LAST TRAIL. 

5— THE SCOURGE OF DAMASCUS 

6— THE GREAT KENTON FEUD 

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17— KARL THE LION 

18— THE YOUNG CASTAWAYS 

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20— THE SPECTRE’S SECRET 

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22— ALARIC, or THE TYRANT’S VAULT.. 


Leon Lewis. 

Sylvanus Cobb, Jr 

Capt. Frederick Whittaker. 

Prof. Wm. Henry Peck 

Sylvanus Cobb, Jr 

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Leon Lewis 

Sylvanus Cobb, Jr 

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23— THE STOLEN VAIL and THE UNSIGNED WILL. E. Werner. 

24— THE EXECUTIONER OF VENICE.... 

2d— JOSEPHINE’S HEART 

26— THE BLACK TIGER 

27— THESEUS: HERO OF ATTICA 

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29— FLORABEL’S LOVER 

30— I ONE 

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42— THE OLD LIFE’S SHADOWS 

43— REUNITED 

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47— THE BEADS OF TASMER 

48— THE LOST LADY OF LONE 

49— THE BARONESS BLANK 


Prof. Wm. Henry Peck 

Reinhold Ortraann 

Capt. Frederick Whittaker. 

Sylvanus Cobb, Jr 

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Mrs.E.H.E.N. South worth. 

Mrs. Harriet Lewis 

Prof. Wm. Henry Peck 

Mrs. Harriet Lewis 

Popular Southern Author. 

Sylvanus Cobb, Jr 

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Mrs. Amelia E. Barr 

Mrs. E. D. E. N. South worth 
Aujfust Niemann 


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THE MASK OF BEAUTY. 


51 Jfotjel. 


TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF 

FANNY LEWALD. - 


BY 


MARY M. PLEASANTS. . 


WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY F. A. CA 



KEWYOKK: J^ICC 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

PUBLISHERS. 


•<TME LEDGER LIBRARY: ISSUED SEMI-MONTHLY. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, TWELVE DOLLARS PER ANNUM. NO. 118, 
■ .lULY 15, 18*4. ENTERED AT THE NEW YORK, N. Y., POSt'’ OFFICE AS SECOND CLASS MAIL MATTER. 



COPYKIOHT, 1894, 

BY ROBERT BONNER’S SONS. 


(All rights reserved.) 


THIS TRANSLATION IS DEDICATED 


TO 

MRS. JAMES D. CRUMP, 

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, 

MY CLASS-MATE AT SCHOOL, MY FELLOW-SUFFERER IN TOIL, 
MY COMPANION IN TRIUMPH AND MY FRIEND 
IN TIME AND ETERNITY. 


MARY M. PLEASANTS 


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THE MASK OF BEAUTY. 


PART FIRST. 

CHAPTER I. 

A mong those localities whose shores are washed 
by the Baltic Sea is Hela, a peninsula, which 
^ stretches out north and almost parallel with 
the mainland, and encloses the bay of Putzig Wieck. 
This promontory is only six miles long, a quarter 
of a mile broad at its best, and, in some places, so 
narrow that the w’ater occasionally covers it. From 
the beech-crowned heights opposite, the sands are 
dazzlingly white, as, like a slightly bent bow, its out- 
lines pse out of the surrounding waters. 

On its extreme point is situated the fishing town of 
Hela, whose lighthouse gleam is distinguishable far 
over the waves. As the peninsula has only been 
transformed from an island by the gradual accumu- 

[ 7 ] 



8 


The Mask of Beauty. 


lation of sand at its southern extremity, it retains 
all the characteristics of its original form. 

The nature of the soil is such as to render com- 
munication by land very difficult, and the inhabi- 
tants, almost exclusively, travel by water. The 
effect of this isolation is apparent in the character 
and customs of the people. In Hela, as on the 
mainland, the population consists of a mixture of 
the original Poles, and the Germans who, during 
the civil war, came into the country. In both places 
the religious distinctions coincide exactly with those 
of race, so that one knows a German to be Protes- 
tant, a Pole, Roman Catholic. At the present time 
the island (as the people call their home) has a 
population of twelve hundred, divided between 
three small villages and the town of Hela. The 
villages of Ceynowo, Putzig and Heisternest are 
inhabited by the Roman Catholics, while Dantzig 
and Hela hold the Protestant element of the island. 
Hela is six miles distant from Putzig, the nearest 
town on the mainland. 

Although, at some seasons, the peninsula can 
be easily reached by boat, few strangers ever touch 
its shores. Even at this late day, there are no 
bathing resorts in Hela, as in other parts of 
Prussia’s coast, and so it possesses that seclusion 
which causes one to speak of it as a remote district. 

Occupations and trades which, usually, bring 
about communication among the people, are very 
few and simple on the island. The older men are 
engaged in fishing, and most of the young ones 
go to sea for a term of years. The women take 


The Mask of Beauty. 


9 


charge of the arduous cultivation of the small 
garden plots and work up the wool of the native 
sheep. Here, more than elsewhere, life moves 
with quiet monotony. 

There is no difference between modes of occu- 
pation in town and village, but the neat houses 
which line the street of the former contrast strongly 
with the miserable huts of the latter. And the 
Helans are very proud of their town. They boast of 
their church, founded in the twelfth century — accord- 
ing to the assertion of an inscription on the steeple — 
of the beautiful white lighthouse (in their dialect 
called Bise), which raises its stately head from the 
southern point of the peninsula, and of their great 
wooden bell-tower which once a year sends forth 
summons to the citizens to pay taxes to the Dantzig 
Commissar ius. 

Besides all these advantages the small town 
possesses a Biirgermeister^ some lawyers and a 
council who, though fishermen like the rest, 
arrogate to themselves superiority in consideration 
of their titles. 

While strangers never seek Hela except on busi- 
ness, the inhabitants show as little disposition to 
leave their home. This is most strikingly true of 
the women, and only now and then grim want 
drives Polish girls into service on the estates or in 
towns of the mainland. 

In Hela all the women are natives, with rare ex- 
ceptions, and since for generations the families 
have intermarried, there is a marked resemblance 
of face and figure among the inhabitants. 


lO 


The Mask of Beauty, 


This likeness is intensified by the similarity of 
dress and manners. The only mode of making dis- 
tinctions among the people is their way of conduct- 
ing the fishing business. It is this : No one citizen 
is rich enough to own a large net in his own right, 
and, therefore, many take stock in the same one, 
and the rank of each is exactly proportioned to his 
interest. These consequential people are duly re- 
spected by the less fortunate, though the bond of 
relationship and citizenship to some extent lessens 
the distinction. 

The villagers are exceedingly poor, and the towns- 
people not much better off. The owner of a few 
one-story houses, a small boat, a share in one of the 
great nets, and a capital of a few hundred dollars is 
considered an opulent person. It may be that the 
communistic custom of dividing the herring haul 
between the owners and workers, who comprise the 
male population, has brought about this compara- 
tive equality of possessions. 

As both men and women do their own work, a 
paid laborer is seldom seen in the peninsula of 
jHela. But, when existing at all, the servants are 
from the Polish villages. 

The costume of the men consists of large sailor 
trousers and jackets of blue cloth ; that of the 
women of narrow skirts and tight-fitting jerkins of 
blue-and-white coarse linen. To the latter the 
Polish women add a large kerchief — a custom which 
was followed by all laboring women during the first 
quarter of the nineteenth century in West Prussia. 
The same sands which have for many years confined 


The Mask of Beauty. 


1 1 


the Helans to their peninsula seem to have kept 
their mode of dress intact. 

It is true that each summer the fishermen cross 
over to Dantzig from Hela to dispose of their stock, 
and the villagers visit Putzig for the same purpose, 
but with this their travel ends. No sooner does the 
autumn weather begin than the roads become im- 
passable, boating dangerous, and all communication 
ceases. 

Even the advantage of sleighing, so great in 
other cold countries, is denied to the inhabitants 
for the want of horses and vehicles. And so 
months often pass without bringing any arrival to 
or departure from Hela, nor an item of news save 
what may occur within its narrow limits. 

This monotonous, uninteresting life in which 
men are, for lack of future, thrown back upon the 
past and present, seems to give the best explana- 
tion of the superstition that characterizes them. 
Stories that were probably simple in origin have, 
from numerous repetitions, gained much in mate- 
rial and mystery, and are accorded universal 
credence. 

And just as caste pride is strongest in narrow cir- 
cumstances and isolation so imagination is in these 
conditions most powerful. 

Passing by the myths which are connected with 
the settlement of the peninsula and the founding 
of Hela which attribute their establishment to the 
Christian daughter of a Swedish king (who was 
thrown into the sea as punishment for her faith) ; 
passing by the stories of the Sunken City and of 


12 


The Mask of Beauty. 


the Sea Spirit (whose power is noted in a funeral 
sermon as frightening the deceased to death), it is 
true that, until recently, the belief in witches and 
their arts was universal in Hela. As late as the 
year 1836 a woman, who had been proved a witch 
by the water-test, was put to death, and to this day 
there are traces of the superstition in the island. 

The Protestant Germans accuse certain Polish 
women of possessing the Evil Eye, and they believe 
that others have the power of bewitching men and 
animals, and the Poles return the suspicion. In 
this day, although the influence of the clergy 
and schools has abolished the witch-test in Hela, 
many inhabitants retain a faith in it, which can 
only be eradicated by larger communication with 
the outer world. 

One who visits this region now can hardly realize 
the condition of things thirty or forty years ago, 
when it was suffering from the curse of war. 
While Hela itself was not invaded, Dantzig, the 
market town, was beleaguered, highways destroyed 
and the country filled with hostile armies. For 
ten months the united Prussians and Russians 
seized the place and brought about bitter woe to 
the people. Grim want and afflictive diseases car- 
ried off thousands of victims in towns and in the 
country. Everywhere roamed bands of soldiers, 
intent upon preventing assistance to the French, 
who, under their gallant leader. General Rapp, had 
so long resisted the siege. Batteries were set up 
all along the coast to bombard approaching French 
vessels. All the inhabitants suffered from these 


The Mask of Beauty. 


n 


soldiers, and considered themselves fortunate to 
retain roofs over their heads and enough food to 
sustain life, for, in spite of the best efforts of their 
commanders, there were committed many lawless, 
cruel acts, for which complaint was as useless as 
redress was impossible. 

But what were all the trials — what were all the 
needs of the country people compared with those 
of the town ? As time went on, single persons and 
families abandoned their whole possessions, and, 
by passes, came out of Dantzig, uncertain to what 
suffering they were fated, but thankful to escape 
after what they had experienced. 

Late in the afternoon of November of this terri- 
ble year, a solitary woman wa:s walking on the 
downs of the Peninsula of Hela. An hour since, 
she rested in a shop of Ceynowo, and now desired 
to reach Dantzig Heisternest before nightfall. It 
had been raining or snowing for a whole week pre- 
vious, and to-day the sky was covered with gray, 
heavy clouds. Soon a sharp, northeast wind began 
to blow and parted the clouds far down on the 
western horizon, so that the pale, lusterless sun ap- 
peared. The sea was raging, and between the long- 
drawn bowlings of the wind arose the thunder of 
the waves beating the shores. 

The weather had rendered the sand firmer foot- 
ing than in summer, but the half-melted snow 
made walking difficult, and impeded the traveller’s 
progress. She pressed on as well as she could 
against the wind gusts, and now and then glanced 
toward the sun, as if to calculate its possible dura- 


H 


The Mask of Beauty, 


tion. Once or twice she looked anxiously south- 
ward, where lay in close proximity the two villages 
of Heisternest, one of which, Dantzig, she must 
reach before the shades of night. She was a woman 
of handsome size, and wore, according to the custom 
of a BiirgerfraUy a mantle of black haircloth, a little 
the worse for wear, whose hood and edges were 
adorned with yellow-spotted fitchet fur. Over her 
head was thrown, as protection against the weather, 
a large, bright-colored kerchief, and the ends were 
fastened in her mantle. 

On leaving Ceynowo, where she had failed to 
learn any news of her home, the traveller’s step 
had been firm and vigorous, indicating a strong 
nature, but the farther she went on her fatiguing 
journey and the lower the sun fell in the sky, just 
so much slower became her movements and more 
evident her fatigue. At last she looked around 
anxiously for a resting-place. But the downs lack 
those natural resting-places which the country land- 
scape usually affords. No rock nor stump invited 
the weary one to linger, and the heaps of sand, on 
which tawny sedges, a few miserable wild-oats and 
thistles bent before the wind, were too wet to sit 
upon. Meantime the sun had set, and the evening 
shadows began to spread. And worse still, the 
clouds again drew together and sent down a dry, 
light snow upon the earth. 

The periodic, lengthy gusts of wind and the roar- 
ing waters completed the depressing circumstances. 
In vain the traveller listened for the baying of a 
dog or other sign of human habitation. Twice some 


The Mask of Beauty, 


15 


cranes with rustling wings flew before her feet as they 
sought the grove of pine which covers a tract of 
the peninsula, and to her superstitious mind they 
betokened evil of some kind. Then a pair of sea- 
gulls, whose broad white wings resembled silvery 
flashes in the gloaming, shot over her head toward 
the sea. 

No other sight or sound greeted the weary 
woman, as onward she walked. Finally darkness 
fell like a pall upon all nature, leaving no clew of 
place or time to the anxious, exhausted one. But 
suddenly a light struck her vision as a star of hope 
in the sky of despair. Wild joy filled her breast at 
the thought of reaching home — of securing rest. 
But to this first bliss of satisfied longing quickly 
ensued concern about how she should find her 
parents, for many years had passed since she left 
the village, and for a year or more she had neither 
seen nor heard of them. Alas ! What might not 
have happened in that time ? Such breedings made 
her uncomfortable. And even supposing she 
should find them well and hearty, it would be a sore 
trial to answer the questions necessary to explain 
her present return, for they would revive the pain- 
ful past. But in spite of such unpleasant thoughts, 
there was an underlying feeling of gladness in the 
imminent deliverance from travelling and a good 
night of reviving sleep. 

Yet as wildly as the wind howled and the sea 
groaned, their disturbances seemed small in com- 
parison with the terrors of the bombarded city, from 
which she had to-day escaped. For many previous 


i6 


The Mask of Beauty. 


days the people of Dantzig had not known an hour 
of consecutive rest. Every day saw the sacrifice of 
the peaceful Burgers^ their wives and children, to 
disease, want or the flying bullets. The memory 
of these things was so vivid in the fugitive’s mind 
that, ever and anon when a wind gust rose, she shud- 
dered involuntarily as from a cannon-shot or falling 
building, and breathed freely to realize herself at 
the mercy of nature’s bombs, and not those of 
wicked, cruel men. 

It was very dark when she reached the first house 
in the village, to the right of which she struck off, 
as on a path frequently trodden. Just as usual she 
recognized the large supports for hanging the fish- 
ing nets, between this habitation and that of her 
father. Mechanically she raised her hand to ascer- 
tain whether the nets were there, and, finding them 
absent, she decided that no one had ventured to sea 
in the storm, and her father must be at home. 
With such thoughts, she reached the house. The 
blind of the window was closed, and the earliness 
of the hour did not explain the absence of light 
shining through the heart-shaped orifices .in the 
same. Filled with vague alarm thereby, she 
stepped up to the door between the fences of rough 
pine boards which, right and left of the path, en- 
closed two small vegetable plots. 

She raised the well-known latch which was 
attached to the upper part of the bisected door and 
felt under her feet the stone floor so often before 
trodden. Perfect quiet and darkness reigned. 

What a contrast to former times ! Then, when a 


The Mask of Beauty, 


17 


stranger approached, the faithful dog announced 
It, or, if the slightest sound was heard outdoors, her 
father hastened to see if anything was wanted or 
had happened. What did his absence mean ? Why 
was the fire opposite unkindled at the hour for 
cooking the potatoes ? Where was her father ? Why 
did her mother fail to prepare the evening meal ? 
Such alarm filled her breast that she could not call. 
Immediately to the left of the door was the only 
sleeping-room of the house, which she hastily ap- 
proached. On the threshold, coming out, she en- 
countered her mother, looking pale and thin and 
carrying a train-oil lamp in her hand. 

But the light was sufficient to show the observant 
daughter that for a long while the housewife’s 
industrious hands had been idle. The large table 
stood, as formerly, near the stove of Dutch tiles, and 
the bench and stools were in their places. The 
jacks for plates and cups were on the wall (without 
their usual occupants, however), and the two large, 
gay-colored chests were on each side of the door. 
The eating vessels stood, as if long neglected, on 
the table, which it was formerly the mother’s pride 
to keep shining like a mirror. Everywhere were 
indications of dirt and decay. 

The breath of the visitor seemed to stop in her 
breast. Without a word, she laid her bundle on the 
nearest chest, and gazed at her mother entreatingly 
and awaited her greeting. But the old woman, 
failing to recognize her own child by the dim light, 
called out in a shrill voice, as she protected the 
lamp from the draught : 


i8 


The Mask of Beauty. 


“ Who are you ?” 

“ It — is — I, mother!” gasped the younger woman 
with an intonation of reproach in her voice. 

“ Who?” cried the mother, in an incredulous tone. 

“ It is your Catherine !” returned the other ; and 
added in great sympathy : “ But, mother, what is 
the matter? Where is my father too ?” 

“ Dead ! Two months ago !” was the laconic 
reply, given with no sign of sorrow for the dead 
nor joy for the living. 

The daughter was evidently overcome with the 
shock, and had to lean her head against the door- 
way for support. Presently she repeated faintly : 

‘‘ Dead !” 

“ Yes, he had the fever, and it killed him. I had 
it too, and wish I had died,” the bid woman went 
on in the same unfeeling way, as she mechanically 
placed the lamp on the table and took her accus- 
tomed seat by the cold stove. 

The daughter remained immovable. She had 
forgotten her weariness and troubles. What suffer- 
ings must her mother have undergone to receive 
the unexpected return of her only child without a 
word of welcome — without a single question as to 
why or whence she came. All her powers of sensa- 
tion seemed concentrated upon her own personal 
misery. A long silence ensued, for the mother 
could not rejoice, and the daughter could not weep. 
At last, the younger woman unfastened her mantle, 
took it off, shook the wet from it and hung it on a 
peg over the chest. Then she removed her head- 
kerchief and revealed a small, white cap with black 


The Mask of Beauty, 


19 


bands, fastened over her blonde hair. This sign of 
mourning attracted the old woman’s attention. 

“ Did you hear about your father?” she asked. 

The daughter could only shake her head in nega- 
tion, for emotion choked her. 

“ For whom do you wear mourning?” 

It is — for — my husband,” gasped the younger 
woman, as from exhaustion she sank down upon 
the nearest seat. 

The words brought back the recent past, and she 
began to weep violently. Her mother, in surprise 
and reproach, said : 

“ Why, he has been dead two years !” 

“ I was — married again,” ejaculated the other 
between her sobs, “ just after New Year — to a 
Spanish corporal. Three weeks ago to-day he was 
killed — yes, he was shot down on the wall.” 

The last sentence she uttered passionately, and 
afterward there was another pause. 

The old woman leaned her arms upon the table 
and gazed into her daughter’s face. The table 
separated the two, and the dim light fell upon the 
sunken cheeks and hollow eyes of the mother. 
Her gray hair was hanging in neglected locks from 
a cap of dark cotton, and her glance rested indiffer- 
ently upon her child, whose full cheeks were glow- 
ing from her long and laborious journey. 

“ I am too warm !” exclaimed the latter, as she 
rose and laid aside a shawl which she had worn 
under her loose mantle. 

This action roused the mother from her stupor. 
She quickly raised the lamp above her head, sur- 


20 


The Mask of Beauty. 


veyed her daughter’s figure and exclaimed in 
mingled horror and joy : 

Catherine, you will soon be confined !” 

“That is why I came home,” sighed the young 
wife. “ My life was not safe in Dantzig. A few 
weeks ago a near neighbor of mine was killed in 
her room by a shell. I did not care for myself, but 
I did not want my child to perish. My husband’s 
captain gave me a pass, and I came out.” 

Even to this the old woman made no reply. In 
those war times all experienced such horrors that 
they lost sympathy for each other. When a new 
tragedy came to their ears, it evoked neither com- 
ment nor interest. 

Meantime, the snow had turned into a sleet, 
which beat loudly against the shutter, and the 
waves struck thundering blows upon the beach. 
The latter sound reminded Catherine of the many 
times she and her mother had sat anxiously await- 
ing her father’s return from sea. 

“ And to think of finding my father dead !” sobbed 
the daughter. “ All through the journey I com- 
forted myself with the thought that he would take 
care of my child if I should die.” 

Again the mother vouchsafed no reply, but she 
rose and walked toward the other room. 

“Where are you going, mother?” asked Cath- 
erine. 

“ To make a fire for you,” was the reply. 

The maternity of the daughter had at last con- 
quered the stupefying power of suffering. 

“ Let me go !” begged the daughter. “ When 


The Mask of Beauty, 


21 


the fire burns you can come to it. It will do you 
good, for you look very badly.” 

The mother again made no reply, but hobbled to 
the hearth. Near by lay some pieces of dry wood, 
from which she selected several pine knots and 
piled them in the fire-place. Then the daughter 
handed her two matches (taken from the old smoke- 
blackened box familiar to her childish days), with 
which she soon kindled a bright fire. This was the 
first blaze made since her sickness and convales- 
cence, during which time she had been sustained 
by the daily offerings of compassionate neighbors. 




CHAPTER 11. 

Catherine’s father had been born and bred in 
Dantzig Heisternest, and followed the business of 
fishing all his days. He lived in the house which 
had belonged to his family from time immemorial, 
and thereby commanded the respect of the less for- 
tunate inhabitants. To own a house which stood 
before many were built was no little distinction in 
the village. But he was unfortunate in his mar- 
riage. He chose a wife from Ceynowo, who was 
both a Pole and Romanist, and all the neighbors 
declared that she had brought him no blessings. 

She did not go with her husband to church nor 
to the Lord’s Table, and her walls were adorned 
with pictures of the Sacred Heart like all the other 
Poles. Neither were his parents pleased with the 
woman, although she brought well-filled chests into 
the house ; but fortunately for them, they survived 
the marriage but a short while. 

Every year brought a new child into the house, 
so taxing the father’s resources as to force him to 
put his oldest girl into service at the age of fifteen. 

The owner of the only shop in Hela had noticed 
the girl and offered to take her, and it turned out 
[ 22 ] 


The Mask of Beauty, 


23 


an advantage to leave home, as the star of misfor- 
tune soon rose upon the household and gradually 
removed the thirteen remaining children. 

So the parents were left lonely and desolate. The 
father, while never cheerful, sought to console him- 
self with other people’s children, but the mother, 
declaring that the sight of them turned her heart 
to stone, shunned them. And right glad were the 
neighbors that she did so. They 'argued that God 
would not have taken from a good mother thirteen 
out of fourteen children, and therefore PVau Klaass 
was very wicked. As a proof thereof they cited 
the fact that her husband would not bring back 
Catherine to the childless home. Why did she 
bloom like a rose in Hela while all her brothers and 
sisters wasted away in the village ? 

The misfortunes which would evoke sympathy 
from thoughtful minds, when belonging to an ob- 
ject of the secret dislike of the ignorant and preju- 
diced, are considered righteous punishment for 
sins. These people could or would not see that 
sickness and sorrow had prematurely aged Frau 
Klaass, and that her last children had been born 
sickly. They did not see that many losses had 
made the mother fear to bring her only remaining 
child to the ill-fated house. But they vividly re- 
membered how when a child was buried she would 
fall on her knees before the picture of the Sacred 
Heart or make a journey to the Roman Catholic 
church in Putzig Heisternest. And as religious 
antipathies and superstition are stranger than 
knowledge, they attributed to the Polish prayers. 


24 


The Mask of Beauty, 


which they did not comprehend, a destructive and 
not beneficent power. 

Of course Herr Klaass received his share of cen- 
sure for marrying such a creature, and it was be- 
lieved that thereby all his trouble came. But though 
he observed both this and his wife’s isolation, he 
did not swerve from his attachment to her nor from 
his determination not to recall his only child to the 
desolate house. 

Catherine was pleasantly situated in Hela. Her 
employer, Herr Deik, besides being a fisherman, 
owned the town shop, and also furnished accommo- 
dations to sailors when ships anchored in the bay 

The attractive appearance and skillful hand of 
the girl soon made her a valued member of the 
hoUvSehold. In the shop she became acquainted 
with the pilot of a stranded ship, who proposed to 
marry her. Although she was only eighteen years 
old and he much older, Herr Klaass and wife made 
no objection to the match. Indeed, they thought 
that the important pilot of a large brig did their 
child great honor to marry her. Catherine also 
made no objection, for though her lover was neither 
young nor handsome, he could tell wonderful stories 
about Stockholm — about America — about the Indies. 
Besides, he promised to bring her pretty clothes 
and trinkets from abroad. Everybody told her that 
she was fortunate to make such a marriage. Lastly, 
she thought with pleasure of standing before the 
altar in a black woolen dress and bridal wreath, 
instead of her present costume of narrow skirt and 
printed linen jerkin. 


The Mask of Beauty. 25 


So the marriage took place and, as it happened, 
was a peaceful one. The pilot secured a comfort- 
able home in Dantzig for his wife, who was an in- 
dustrious and successful manager. He was always 
greeted with hearty welcome when he returned 
from a voyage, and he never failed to bring the 
promised present from foreign lands. 

Herr Klaass and wife paid their daughter a visit 
two years after her marriage, and were often the 
recipients of her bounty. 

Six years passed away thus auspiciously. In the 
the fall of the year 1 8 1 1 , the brig, Marian, once 
more entered the harbor of Dantzig ; but alas, with- 
out its pilot ! Soon after leaving Newcastle, where 
grain was delivered and coal taken in, the unfortu- 
nate man had been knocked from his post at the 
wheel into the water and could not be rescued. 
When Catherine learned her husband’s fate, he had 
been weeks under the waves of the North Sea. 
The young widow’s grief over the death of one 
who had been all kindness to her was genuine ; but 
it, naturally, did not last as long as if his absence 
had altered her daily life. She soon turned her 
thoughts to the legacy, which the pilot had often 
told her she would find in the hands of the business 
firm for which he worked, in case of his sudden 
death. But inquiry into the matter soon proved 
otherwise. It appeared, from the papers taken 
from his person and other testimony, that he had, 
two years before, withdrawn his small earnings 
from the custody of the house and lost them in a 
speculation. So the widow was left to depend upon 


26 


The Mask of Beauty. 


the small balance of wages due the pilot and the 
money she had in hand, which could sustain her 
only a short time. She must find employment 
for her support. This, fortunately, was easily gotten 
by industrious women, as the town was full of 
troops. She chose to take the washing of the 
officers who were quartered near her, and her satis- 
factory work brought much attention to her. Added 
to this, her fresh beauty and lively manners would 
have made the position dangerous to a less prudent 
woman. She had led a married life for six years 
and done her full duty as wife. She had imagined 
herself as happy as possible with the pilot, but as 
she contrasted her quiet, lonely life then, with the 
present daily stir and admiration, she, for the first 
time, realized that her husband had been too old 
and slow for her. 

When one day a vSpanish corporal came to the 
house, she could not help thinking how much more 
attractive life would be with such a mate than the 
other. This man was young and handsome, and 
was immediately struck with Catherine’s looks. 
But they could not communicate save by glances, 
as neither knew more in French than Good day !” 
or “What do you want?” or such simple things. 
But in spite of this disability, the corporal came 
again and again to the house to see the widow, and 
they understood each other’s love without words. 
Neither of them knew anything of that harmony of 
heart and soul which makes the union of a pair 
complete, but their attachment was genuine of its 
kind, so that when Catherine appeared without her 


The Mask of Beauty. 


27 


badge of mourning one day, the lover with diffi- 
culty articulated, '' Belle femme, je vous aime and 
enclosed her willing form in his arms. Then the 
woman first realized the bliss of reciprocated love. 

The pilot had been dead fourteen months when 
the Spaniard led his widow to the altar. And what 
a contrast were the two marriages ! Six years of 
the first had passed peacefully away, while the days 
and weeks of the second were full of storms. For 
months consecutively the pilot left his wife without 
concern, but the corporal was never easy in mind 
when his duties separated him from her. Though 
he loved her as his own life, he, judging her by the 
frivolous women whom he had encountered every- 
where on the march, feared to trust her far. 

Thus love and jealousy, pleasure and pain, trust 
and distrust diversified the married life of the hand- 
some pair. From fighting on the wall the husband 
would escape to spend a few moments with his wife, 
and, from her arms, as quickly return to his post, 
uncertain whether he would ever see her again. 
Day and night Catherine, fearing at every murder- 
ous thunder of artillery the death of her beloved, 
and becoming, as the siege progressed, more and 
more subjected to want, in spite of his best efforts 
to supply them, underwent a trial which even her 
strong constitution could not stand. Her cheeks 
lost their color and her eyes their brightness, and 
her condition so excited the compassion of the cap- 
tain for whom she washed that he offered her a 
pass to escape from the city. But Catherine loved 
her husband too well to desert him thus, and, only 


28 


The Mask of Beauty. 


after his death, did she accept the pass, and with 
her small possessions of money and clothes reach 
her native village in the manner described. 

The sad state of things at home — her father’s 
death and her mother’s sickness — would have com- 
pletely prostrated her had not the escape from the 
terrible scenes of Dantzig been the supreme neces- 
sity of the moment. She possessed enough money 
to supply the family necessities for awhile and ren- 
der her mother more comfortable, and this was a 
consolation. 

The neighbor who brought food to the sick one 
next morning as usual kindly procured for Cathe- 
rine all she wanted, and in a few hours the house 
looked like another place. Thus no one is so un- 
happy as not to be able to mitigate the sorrow of 
another. 

Old Frau Klaass, as the neighbors called Cathe- 
rine’s mother, though she was just in the fifties, had 
ever since her husband’s death lain upon her bed 
in a kind of stupor. She took no interest in life, 
and did not exercise that resistance to disease which 
makes people in a certain sense masters of their 
lives. But the sudden arrival of her daughter fur- 
nished her with the best cure for this. She left her 
bed, busied herself about the house, and became 
cheerful instead of melancholy. And thus, like 
many others, from the moment she helped another 
she helped herself. 

In a few days Catherine had told all of her history 
to her mother and to the villagers who came in one by 
one to greet her, to look at her and question her. 


The Mask of Beauty. 


29 


But neither party was satisfied with what she related. 
She seemed to them, in her costume of a Burger- 
frau^ both rich and distinguished, and yet she rep- 
resented herself as desolate and impoverished. 

Eleven years of absence from her home had fully 
estranged her from it, and she keenly felt the truth. 
No less did they understand it, but they expected 
to find their acquaintance unchanged, and were of- 
fended that their hope was deceived. 

Again and again was she asked to picture the 
horrors of the siege, from which her soul revolted, 
or explain what she was going to do with her gold 
pieces, of which she was supposed to possess many, 
as she had had one changed in the town. Her la- 
conic report of the condition of Dantzig and her 
quiet assurance that she had spent her only gold 
piece only received unbelief. 

The people were convinced that Catherine was 
rich, for Frau Klaass had often told them of all her 
daughter’s beautiful things which she saw in Dant- 
zig. Who could forget the walnut chest of drawers 
with the lion head brass knobs on the mirror, with 
a row of angels painted on its frame ? And what of 
the curtains and all the tankards and plates which 
the pilot had brought her from England ? Besides, 
who could not see the lovely coat, silk apron and 
silk kerchief which she now wore ? And wouldn’t the 
Burgerfrau Frau Deik, whom she had served, be 
proud of such a mantle ? 

For Catherine to make answer that she never ex- 
pected to recover any of her property in the be- 
leaguered town and that she must now find work to 


30 


The Mask of Beauty, 


enable her to live gave immense discontent and no 
credence. 

If she could have been more communicative, and 
mingled more freely with her questioners, the re- 
sult would have been happier. But as she shrank 
from the impertinence and indelicacy of her visit- 
ors, in a few days she gained the undisturbed rest 
which she so sadly needed. 

But, meantime, gossiping tongues were busily 
engaged at her expense. 

It happened that Frau Klaass on the morning 
after her daughter’s arrival, either from mistake or 
boasting, announced to some one that Catherine 
was the widow of a rich and distinguished officer 
in the Spanish army. This news spread like wild- 
fire through the village, and thus getting back to 
the daughter was contradicted by her. Later, she 
took occasion to explain to one of the most sensible 
men in the village, who in youth had visited Spain 
as a sailor, that her second husband was the son of 
poor people and, in spite of gallantry, had never 
risen higher than corporal in the army. This the 
old man repeated to introduce his favorite theme 
of the gardens, vineyards, castles and grandeurs of 
Spain, and in the passage of the same from mouth 
to mouth, both were united, and everybody believed 
that Catherine had married a rich Spaniard and 
that, as soon as the siege of Dantzig was relieved, 
she would possess great wealth. And on the 
strength of the report, not a few beggars visited 
Catherine. The universal want of the land ex- 
tended to Hela, where all business ceases for the 


The Mask of Beauty, 


31 


winter, and mendicants were abundant. If the 
widow had been able to respond to these demands, 
her city clothes, speech and manners would have 
been considered appropriate to her station. But 
her protestations of inability to relieve them in 
view of her dress and appearance angered them. 
They told how some one had seen the gold-piece 
changed for her, and some one else had found fresh 
meat cooking (a thing that no one else could afford), 
and still another had surprised her cutting baby 
clothes out of large fine sheets, as if for a little 
prince. Who considered that the gold-piece was 
the poor woman’s last one? Who believed that 
she had bought the luxurious food to restore her 
mother to health ? Who thought that she was 
obliged to cut up the sheets for lack of other 
material ? 

Finally, some one suggested that if Catherine 
was not so opulent as they thought, the only ex- 
planation was that she was not the lawful wife of 
the Spaniard. This report rapidly spread and, as 
usual in small-minded communities, was gladly 
credited. Very soon she was called the officer’s 
Catherine, and the women contemptuously declared 
themselves thankful not to possess her fine things 
at such a price. At last, it was pretty well under- 
stood that the Spaniard was not dead as reported, 
but had abandoned his mistress, causing her to seek 
refuge in her misery with the mother whom she 
had neglected in her prosperity. The subject of 
this injustice only found it out by the scorn and 
anger of her mother, and the knowledge but 


32 


The Mask of Beauty. 


strengthened her in her reticence and reserve. 
Her health was very poor, and the approaching 
trial made her anxious and regretful that she had 
not sought some larger place where she could have 
worked up to her confinement, instead of sitting 
idle all the time. The winter progressed rapidly, 
and the thick frost on the windows and the sands 
covered in a deep sheet of undisturbed snow made 
a cheerless sight. But the necessity of raising her 
mother’s spirits caused Catherine to present to her 
hopes which her own mind did not entertain. She 
would say that things would be better when the 
summer came — when the child would be there, and 
she could go to Dantzig to recover her property ; 
and even if she could not do that, she might go to 
Spain, where she knew her husband’s parents would 
help his wife and child. 

Great ignorance of the world made the old woman 
rejoice in such plans, and gave her surprise that 
their contemplation did not equally please her 
daughter. In proportion as the young widow 
thought little of securing help from her husband’s 
relations, the old woman thought more of it, and, 
at last, there was no person in Heisternest more con- 
vinced of the grandeur and power which Catherine 
might secure from them than Frau Klaass herself. 
While the mother’s mind was full of golden visions, 
the daughter’s of dread forebodings, the new year 
set in. 

It was the very coldest night of the winter, when 
doors were barred with snow, and the wind took 
away the breath, that Frau Klaass stood under a 



“THE CORAL NECKLACE AND THE EARRINGS ARE BOTH YOURS .”— Page 41 




33 


The Mask of Beauty, 


starlit sky and knocked at the window of a neigh- 
bor. She wanted her to assist her daughter, and 
and begged her to hasten. ‘ But the houses were far 
apart, walking difficult, and the woman old, so that 
some time elapsed ere they reached the one who 
no longer needed their services. The low cry of a 
babe and the sighs of the mother greeted their ears 
on entering. 

Catherine feebly summoned Frau Klaass and 
gasped : 

“I am gone! Don’t — forsake — my — child — 

mother !” 

Both women tried to console her and rendered 
such help as they could ; but greatest skill would 
have failed to restore her. The poor sufferer’s 
strength visibly decreased, and the agonized mother, 
feeling that death was imminent, placed the babe 
where her dying glance could fall upon it. 

Just as the first rays of the sun fell on the frozen 
window-pane poor Catherine opened her eyes and 
articulated indistinctly : ‘‘ Mother — my child !” and 
closed them forever. 

Frau Klaass stood by the corpse of her fourteenth 
and last child and, as she looked upon the new-born 
infant, she gave it, in memory of its mother, the 
name of Catherine. 




CHAPTER III. 

Catherine Carvallos had been dead only a short 
while when the siege of Dantzig was relieved. The 
French abandoned Prussia, and the overthrow of 
the Emperor Napoleon quickly ensued. Thus the 
Fatherland rose Phoenix-like from the ashes of war 
and rapine into the beauty of peace and plenty. 

And though the years between 1806-13 witnessed 
the sacrifice of many loved ones and much property, 
it was not long ere a new generation knew these 
horrors only by hearsay. Peaceful avocations were 
rapidly resumed, and the tools of agriculture soon 
removed from the battlefields all signs of the re- 
cent bloodshed. Abundant crops waved over the 
soil lately saturated in human gore, and overhead 
spread the quiet, ethereal blue sky which had wit- 
nessed countless wounded and dying. Now through- 
out Europe the laborer could again follow unmolested 
his plow, the traveller his journey, the sailor his 
voyage, and the vessel drop anchor where it 
would. 

But meantime life went hard with Frau Klaass, 
for she did not possess those personal surroundings 
[34] 



The Mask of Beauty. 


35 


necessary to make her a sharer of the benefits of 
this condition of things. The house in Hela which 
had no male occupant was naturally the abode of 
want, for without the labor of the fisherman there 
was no reward from the fish-haul. If Frau Klaass 
had sold her small but good dwelling on her hus- 
band’s death, she would have fared much better. 
The mayor of the village, who was little Catherine’s 
guardian, very truly represented to her how much 
she could do for the child by disposing of her 
property, but she was decided and stubborn to make 
it Catherine’s inheritance like all her ancestors’. 

And although the good man warned her that she 
would suffer for and repent of her decision, she re- 
mained unchanged. Truly, she soon proved his 
words in suffering if not in repentance ! 

A frame, weakened by great physical and mental 
agony, was incapable of the activity necessary to 
support herself and grandchild, and she- became 
more perplexed as to how to make ends meet. 
Finally, when she could neither cultivate her small 
garden nor pay taxes to save her furniture from the 
executor’s hands, she sold her house to a neighbor 
for a small annuity. 

Frau Klaass had always been one of the most in- 
dustrious and orderly women in the village, but, 
because of her misfortunes and unpopularity, no 
one knew it besides her husband. At least, they 
said that she was as boastful of herself as if she was 
the only good housewife in the world. They de- 
clared that her pride— which was offensive enough 
when Catherine married the pilot, had trans- 


3 ^ 


The Mask of Beauty. 


gressed all bounds when, on the poor woman’s 
death, she sold her fur mantle, shawl and mourning 
to bury her like a rich person and put a stone with 
her name and a Bible verse over her grave, like the 
pastor’s in Hela. That the mother was thus honor- 
ing the grave of her last child they did not take 
into account. 

If Frau Klaass had retained her own home this 
pride would have been considered an honor to her. 
But who does not know that when one starts down 
the hill of ill-luck everybody will give him an on- 
ward blow ? To be proud and live in a rented hut 
was an unpardonable offense. 

Meanwhile, the hostile tongues could bring no 
accusation other than this against Frau Klaass. 
She sought work of any kind and did it faithfully. 
There was nothing too hard for her to do, and she 
never uttered a complaint. But she never spoke a 
word more than necessary to settle her business, 
and it seemed that she had vowed to communicate 
as little as possible with her fellow-creatures. 

Her manners made her unpleasant to every one, 
and only those who wanted her services ever ap- 
proached her. And thus little Catherine became 
the sole companion of the old woman, and on her 
was.lavished such love as was given to all the lost. 
Seldom did the grandmother lose sight of the child, 
who was her hope, her joy, her all. The grand- 
child, unlike her children, whom the greatest anx- 
iety and care could not preserve, seemed to grow 
and thrive, unassisted. 

Unselfish love often made Frau Klaass deny her- 


The Mask of Beauty, 


37 


self something to better nourish Catherine, and, as 
the latter grew and developed into so different a 
child from the other Helans, the grandmother 
doted more upon her and believed both that she 
was given for a consolation to her and was reserved 
for some high destiny. Just as soon as Catherine 
could understand her, Frau Klaass began to tell 
about her mother and her fine house in Dantzig — 
about her handsome father and his distant home, 
and soon assured her that, one of these days, she 
should go to her father’s home to live in luxury 
with his distinguished relations. At first such 
stories impressed Catherine like fairy-tales do other 
children. The words arrested her attention, and 
their incomprehensibility her curiosity. But by 
degrees it came into her mind that she was the chief 
figure in the narratives, and, with this thought as 
an entering wedge, her imagination soon ran far 
beyond her grandmother’s wildest dreams. 

Little Catherine was not quite six years old, when 
she sat one Christmas eve by her grandmother’s 
side in their small bedroom. During the forenoon, 
everybody else in the village had gone dr sent to 
Putzig to get something for the next day, and 
Catherine had seen candles, apples and nuts des- 
tined for the various Christmas trees. But there 
was to be no tree for her ! In winter, Frau 
Klaass could only spin yarn and knit stock- 
ings for the neighbors, and by utmost endeavor 
only secured daily bread. While the rest were in 
Putzig, the old woman and child repaired to the 
neighboring wood and secured the dry sticks and 


38 


The Mask of Beauty. 


fir-cones which now warmed and lighted the narrow 
room. 

Catherine had been sitting silent some minutes 
on the bench before the stove, when, induced either 
by the sight of the fire or memory of the children’s 
prattle, she suddenly asked : 

“ Grandmother, who is Holy Christ ?” 

“He is the beloved Son of God, and to-morrow 
is His birthday,” replied the old woman, resuming 
after a little pause. “ Every year, when His birthday 
comes, He visits the earth.” 

“ But who brings Christian his new boots?” con- 
tinued the child earnestly. 

Frau Klaass did not seem to hear the question, 
and Catherine repeated : 

“ Does the Holy Christ bring new boots to Chris- 
tian and to nobody else ? Does He only go to the 
mayor’s ?” 

“ Why, He gives all children something, especially 
when they are good,” was the unguarded reply. 

For a few moments the child was silent, and then 
burst out impatiently and reproachfully : 

“ Why don’t He bring me something, for I am 
good? And my mother is in heaven, and ought to 
send me something ! I will have boots, too !” 

With this, she buried her small face in her hands 
and wept bitterly. It was, indeed, an unusual thing 
for Catherine to cry, and the sight of her distress 
moved the grandmother to conipassion. But what 
could she say or do to comfort her? Memory flew 
back to the first days of her married life, when, at 
this hour of every Christmas eve, her husband 


The Mask of Beauty. 


39 


would return from market, laden with apples and 
nuts for their children’s tree. But now they were 
gone, and there was no one in the wide world but 
herself to think of the poor orphan before her, and 
there was nothing she could do. Never before had 
she felt the sting of poverty so keen or pity for 
the unfortunate child so great ! 

In sheer desperation she glanced around the 
small room, and her eye fell upon a small fir bush 
with the pile of fuel brought from the woods. At 
once her decision was made. 

“ Hush, Catherine, hush !” she said soothingly, 
“ for if you don’t the Holy Christ will not come in, 
and He is outside the door there and hears you 
crying !” 

* The child ceased weeping and looked up in min- 
gled surprise and awe. Her large, dark eyes were 
still filled with tears, but her grief was over. After 
glancing from door to window in excited expecta- 
tion, she looked into her grandmother’s face with 
an expression of perfect trust which sent a pang to 
the old woman’s heart. Without a word Frau 
Klaass took the child’s hand, led her into the ad- 
joining dark kitchen, placed her on the bench in 
the corner of the hearth, and told her to sit still 
until called. Returning to the bedroom, she took 
up the bush, fastened it in a crack in the floor just 
before the stove, and made a step toward the door. 
But she suddenly paused as the thought came that 
the gift, the most important addition to the Christ- 
mas tree, was wanting. Irresolutely she stood en- 
during the agony which only the indigent can feel. 


40 


The Mask of Beauty, 


Then she hastened to the window, and throwing 
open the blind, satisfied herself that no witness was 
near. Carefully replacing the shutter, she returned 
to the stove and thoughtfully gazed upon the fir- 
bush. 

At last her scruples seemed overcome as she 
cautiously and with suspicious, roaming eyes took 
from her bosom a little bag which was secured to a 
string around her neck. Tremblingly she drew 
forth from its depths two objects and hung them 
at different points on the green twigs of the bush. 
Then she stepped back and viewed them with ex- 
treme delight. Lastly she cut her only candle into 
three equal portions, set them at proper distances 
on the bush, lighted them, opened the door, and 
called Catherine to see what the Holy Christ had 
brought her. 

Out of the black darkness of the kitchen the poor 
little child entered the well-known chamber. But she 
seemed to have stepped into an enchanted palace. 

As faint as was the light from the stove and 
the three candles, their radiance almost blinded 
Catherine and impressed her as a flood of sunshine 
filling the room. To her eyes the little bush was a 
large tree, and best of all, among the green bushes 
glittered a pair of large gold earrings and a coral 
necklace. Unspeakable wonder and admiration 
filled the breast of the innocent, and she stood dumb 
and motionless, as if enchanted. She displayed no 
natural inclination to question or handle. 

After some minutes her eyes slowly traversed the 
room, as if to try to prove her own identity. 


The Mask of Beauty, 


41 


Then Frau Klaass tenderly took her hand and 
said : 

‘‘ Look here ! Look well ! See what the Holy 
Christ has brought you !” 

“ Me ! Me !” gasped the child, in rapture. 

“ Yes, you. The coral necklace and the earrings 
are both yours. They belong to you !” was the ex- 
ultant reply. 

‘‘ Mine ! Mine !” repeated Catherine, as she drew 
nearer to the tree and stretched out her arms 
toward it. 

Stop ! Stop !” said the grandmother, in a dif- 
ferent tone. “ They are only yours to look at, for 
the Holy Christ will take them away.” 

The child dropped her arms, as if shot. 

Now, Frau Klaass, although, she was delighted to 
have given her grandchild pleasure, wanted her to 
leave before the small candles burned out, and be- 
sides, she began to repent of showing the jewels to 
her. But when she tried to send her out, Catherine 
clung so beseechingly to her skirt that her resolu- 
tion failed. Moreover, when the beloved object 
entreatingly cried “ Please, please let me touch the 
pretties !” the old woman took her up in her arms 
for that purpose. The child seized first the neck- 
lace and then the earrings, and viewed them with 
supreme delight. Then Frau Klaass forgot her 
desire to remove her, placed her on the floor and 
fastened the chain around her neck, the ear- 
rings in her ears. During this process, Cathe- 
rine did not move a muscle. She seemed to be 
nailed to the floor. Her head was raised stiffly in 


42 


The Mask of Beauty. 


the air, and the big earrings were a heavy burden 
to it. 

She kept her eyes proudly fastened on the three 
dim candles, except when she glanced approvingly 
down upon her necklace which (being her mother’s) 
reached to her short waist. Suddenly she turned 
toward the door, but her arm was caught by her 
grandmother as she said : 

Where now?” 

Her voice was indicative of indescribable triumph 
as she answered : 

“ To see the children !” 

No, indeed !” was the stern response of Frau 
Klaass, as she began to remove the precious jewels 
from their possessor. 

When this was done, she ordered the child to 
resume her seat in the dark kitchen. But a few 
minutes sufficed to remove all trace of the Christmas 
tree and to recall the banished. When the grand- 
daughter reappeared, the dazzling beauties were 
gone, the candles out, the stove door shut, and the 
train-oil lamp on the table cast a feeble, dismal 
light just around a small circle. The sight was too 
much for the poor child, and she quickly ran to the 
farthest corner of the room and turned her back 
upon it all. 

Frau Klaass observed this conduct, but did not 
speak to Catherine. The truth was, she was trying 
to devise some means of preventing Catherine from 
telling any one about the jewels. In a moment of 
temptation, she had revealed to an indiscreet child 
what she had so far concealed with greatest care. 


The Mask of Beauty, 


43 


Those precious jewels were the last gift of the 
Spanish Carvallos to his wife, and Catherine valued 
them as mementoes of him, and desired her child, 
if a girl, to inherit them. No sooner was her 
daughter dead than the old woman concealed the 
ornaments on her person, and made a vow to tell 
no one of their existence until her grandchild was 
old enough to wear them. Her wisdom in this 
conduct was apparent, for if the villagers had 
known that she held such valuables, little assistance 
in charity or work would she have gotten. Neither 
sickness nor want had induced her to give up the 
only legacy of her grandchild, but the orphan’s 
pitiful wail for a gift from above had overcome her 
prudence and jeopardized her treasure. Suppose 
Catherine should tell ! The mayor, who was the 
child’s guardian, would take away his ward’s prop- 
erty and summon her before the court. And she 
had heard of people getting around the law and 
embezzling others’ property. Alas, for the beautiful 
earrings and necklace ! What account would be 
taken of her acting for the child’s best interest? 
Another thought gave her more concern. What if 
one were to try to steal the jewels from her? She 
was weak and defenseless, and the very thought of 
a robber made her hair stand on end. 

It was, therefore, most apparent that she must, 
by some means, prevent the child from revealing 
the existence of her jewels. But to do this, she 
must find out what Catherine thought about it, and 
why she sat so sullenly in the corner. 

So she rose, took the loaf of bread from the table- 


44 


The Mask of Beauty. 


drawer, cut off the child’s supper and called her to 
get it. Catherine answered the summons, but did 
not touch the bread. Instead of that, she looked 
searchingly around and whispered : 

“ My necklace ! My earrings !” 

They are gone away !” said the other, solemnly. 
“ Real far away !” 

“ Far away !” was the despairing reply. 

“ Yes, taken away by the Holy Christ,” continued 
the old woman impressively. “ He brings them 
once a year to be seen and touched. But if you 
don’t tell anybody about them — not even Christian 
or Barbe, He will, when you are grown up, bring 
them and leave them with you, so that you can show 
them to everybody. But remember what I say, you 
must not speak of them now! Not a word about 
the tree, the lights and the jewels ! Do you hear 
me, Catherine? Not a word to a soul !” 

The child understood the threatening import of 
the last sentences, but with the love of mystery and 
contradiction peculiar to most children, she replied : 

“ But what if I do tell ?” 

This question surprised and provoked the old 
woman, and giving way to her anger, she replied, 
with the national expression of threat : 

Then the Gottseibeiuns will come and wring your 
head off !” 

Something like the palsy seemed to seize the 
face and limbs of the child. She spoke no other 
word, ate her bread, and went to sleep. And the 
grandmother went to rest beside her with the fond 
hope that the subject was forever hushed. 


The Mask of Beauty. 


45 


This hope was strengthened next day by the fact 
that Catherine said nothing about the matter. But 
Frau Klaass was, like many another guardian, ig- 
norant of the nature entrusted to her charge, and 
the absence of reference but proved the activity of 
the little one's thoughts on the subject. Every 
time the other children spoke of Christmas, Cathe- 
rine longed to relate her beautiful experience, but 
terror of the predicted punishment restrained her 
tongue. 

One evening, some time after Christmas, Frau 
Klaass having to deliver a lot of spun yarn to the 
owner, and thinking she would soon return, charged 
Catherine to stay in the house quietly. But the 
neighbor being away from home, and the old 
woman in need of the two Groschen of pay, time 
passed on while her return was awaited, and dark- 
ness fell upon the cottage of which the little orphan 
was sole occupant. The child mounted in a chair 
and made films on the window panes with her 
breath as she looked for her grandmother’s return- 
ing figure. When it grew too dark to distinguish 
objects outside, she dismounted from her chair at 
the window, ran into the kitchen and sat down 
in the very place where she had awaited the ar- 
rival of the Holy Christ. As she thus sat, the 
thought occurred that in the other room she might 
find the tree with its dazzling lights and jewels. 
Imagination was brilliant and hope great as she 
softly opened the door and looked in. 

The silence and darkness roused feelings of min- 
gled disappointment and resentment. In her inno- 


46 


The Mask of Beatdy. 


cent mind what had once happened must happen 
again, and the dark kitchen be followed by the 
brilliant bedroom. The contrast to her hopes 
soured her temper, and she stamped her little foot 
and vowed she would have the pretty tree again. 

When this fit of wrath subsided she began to 
think how she could induce the Holy Christ to re- 
turn. Finally she curled herself up on the bench 
by the stove, pressed her small face into the corner 
and whispered : 

‘‘ Holy Christ ! Holy Christ ! Please bring back 
the tree and the earrings and the necklace. I will 
be so glad !” 

But scarcely had she articulated the words before 
she remembered her grandmother’s terrible words : 
“ If you speak of the tree and its treasures, then 
the Gottseibeiuns will come and wring your head 
off !” 

In the darkness and loneliness of the house, the 
remembrance gave her peculiar alarm. She shook 
with terror and pressed her hands against her eyes. 
Suddenly the room seemed in a blaze of light, and 
the tree, with all its beauties, sprang into position. 
But fear of the Gottseibeiuns prevented her from 
opening her eyes, and presently she felt his heavy 
hand on her neck. 

With a piercing cry of terror, she sprang up and 
— her glance fell upon her grandmother’s figure en- 
tering the doorway. She rushed to her side, clung 
to her dress and could not answer her question as 
to the cause of alarm. Frau Klaass attributed the 
child’s distress to being alone in the house, and by 


The Mask of Beauty. 


47 


the time the lamp was lit, all signs of it had disap- 
peared. 

Catherine’s sudden recovery was due to the 
agreeable realization that the Gottseibeiiins had not 
killed her, though she had spoken of the forbidden 
things. 

Thus the grandmother’s deception induced a cor- 
responding action from her grandchild, and decid- 
ing to conceal it only from her, the child rejoiced 
in the prospect of telling every one about her won- 
derful Christmas tree. So for the rest of the even- 
ing Catherine was bright and frolicsome, and that 
night talked in her sleep about her valued visita- 
tion from the Holy Christ. 




CHAPTER IV. 

Very soon a wonderful report was circulated 
through the village. It was said that Frau Klaass 
had been acting the part of a hypocrite, since she 
seemed to have scarcely enough to eat, and yet pos- 
sessed a boxful of rings, earrings and such things, 
which had belonged to the officer’s Catherine. Be- 
sides, she must have more money than she pre- 
tended, to give her grandchild a finer Christmas 
tree than anybody else in the village^ and it was 
very mean in her not to ask anybody to see it ! 

When these tales reached the mayor’s ears, he 
declared them to be groundless, as he had examined 
the effects of the deceased and found nothing but a 
pair of linen sheets, two good silk handkerchiefs 
and one dress, all of which he had turned over to 
Frau Klaass for the benefit of his ward. When it 
was answered that the child had told the facts, he 
said it was silly to listen to her prattle, as, doubt- 
less, the grandmother’s tales had been represented 
as true by Catherine. Everybody knew that Frau 
Klaass had punished her more than once for tat- 
[48] 


The Mask of Beauty. 


49 


tling, and no person with five senses should listen 
to it. 

But while the mayor usually possessed great in- 
fluence over public opinion, in this instance he failed 
to make the desired impression. The woman who 
started the report maintained that though Catherine 
was a dark-skinned, ugly child, she was very clever 
for her age, and that you could depend upon what 
she said she had seen as true. But even supposing 
Frau Klaass had not secreted any valuables of her 
daughter’s, then they must believe that she got 
them in a dishonest way. Hadn’t everybody noticed 
how, for years, she would not look one in the face 
or have anything to do with one ? Why might the 
Spaniard not have taught his wife arts, and she her 
mother ? 

She was a Pole, who could do more things than 
eat bread. When once the public thought had 
taken this turn, there was no limit to the extrava- 
gance of the forms it assumed. Some said that the 
old woman had buried money, which the officer had 
stolen and given to Catherine. Others believed her 
in league with the devil, through whose gift she 
had unusual power, because Catherine had spoken 
of the Gottseibeiuns to the children. And this and 
that person, by way of corroborating such a view, 
recalled instances in which some ill luck had be- 
fallen him after ' an unpleasantness with Frau 
Klaass. 

It was with great difficulty that the mayor and* 
.schoolmaster prevented the villagers from making 
application to the pastor of the church in Hela. 


50 


The Mask of Beauty. 


What availed their repeated explanations that Frau 
Klaass had caused her grandchild, like all her own 
children, to be duly christened in the Lutheran 
Church, and that her husband and the child’s 
mother were orthodox members of the same 
church? Of what use was it to remind them 
that the old woman sent the little one to school, 
to catechism . and everything good ? They were 
bent upon believing ill of the poor creature, who 
did nothing to right herself in their estimation. 
But as all were afraid to deny her request or to 
encounter her, Ftslvl Klaass clung more tenderly to 
her grandchild and was really better off than before 
the persecution. 

Thus, two years passed. So long as the grand- 
mother kept a moderate amount of strength, she 
managed to support herself and the child. But 
like many people of laborious lives, old age brought 
on her a feebleness which prostrated her at intervals 
and went by the name of “ turn.” Very often she 
was not able to go out to work, and suffered from 
weak knees, short breath and diminished vision. 
At last, she could only sit in the room and spin, 
which she did from early morning till twilight. 

But the old woman’s weakness developed prema- 
turely the child’s powers. She could manage the 
household as soon as her little hands learned the 
uses of pot and dish, tub and broom. She brought 
from the woods as much fuel as a grown person, 
•and fetched and carried her grandmother’s work 
and pay to and from any part of the village. And 
when she learned to knit, her work aided in a small 


The Mask of Beauty, 


SI 


way to defray family expenses. She was in school, 
undoubtedly, the brightest and most industrious 
child, and if ever her efforts flagged, the grand- 
mother held a sure weapon to spur her on. 

“If you don’t learn,” she would say, “then you 
can’t write to your relations far away and ask them 
to help you !” 

For Catherine, even more than the old woman, 
cherished the deceitful hopes, which her mother 
had, unintentionally, planted in Frau Klaass’s 
mind. Otherwise, the years slipped peace- 
fully by. After the betrayal of the visit of Holy 
Christ, no second Christmas tree came to the 
child. 

She had learned that the Holy Christ did not 
bring the jewels, but that her grandmother kept 
them with a red silk handkerchief adorned with 
large flowers, and a broad, black silk apron, care- 
fully put away for her. All of these things would 
have looked strange in any house in the village, 
but, contrasting as they did with the miserable 
dwelling and surroundings of Frau Klaass, they 
seemed to Catherine objects of enchanting love- 
liness. 

The grandmother wore the earrings and necklace 
around her neck like a talisman, and preserved the 
handkerchief and apron in the side drawer of the 
large, yellow chest which she had retained when 
she sold her house because it was her marriage 
dowry. This chest now contained little more than 
the two precious articles of dress, and it was the 
greatest pleasure of Catherine’s life to look in upon 


52 


The Mask of Beauty, 


her future possessions. These few relics and the 
value set upon them by the old woman caused the 
imagination of the child to dwell more and more 
upon a vague but elevated destiny, in spite of the 
necessitous present. 

If ever Catherine saw any other child with any 
adornment, such as a string of tin beads painted 
red, which would fill the little ones with envy, she 
would invariably turn from them in scorn. She 
had learned better than to discourse about her 
treasures, and yet she could not resist saying some- 
times that when she was grown she would wear 
very different ornaments from those. Such re- 
marks, in view of the child’s shabby clothing, 
excited the most unkind rejoinders. 

“Your mother had so much,” one said to her 
when her jacket was particularly ragged. “ Why 
don’t you dress better?” 

“ Did your old skirt come out of the bag where 
your grandmother keeps the jewels?” chimed in 
another. 

“ Did that old apron come down to you from your 
father?” added another. 

And when Catherine surpassed all the rest in 
school and was praised by her teacher for reading 
and writing well, she would hear on every hand in 
recess such things as : 

“You may write all over the world and will not 
find your father’s relations. Everybody knows he 
was either a gypsy or a witch, by your black skin, 
and he taught your mother and grandmother all 
their tricks.” 


The Mask of Beatity. 


53 


Until the child was eight or nine years old she 
listened to these insults, sometimes indifferent, 
sometimes replying the Best she could. But after 
that they wounded and offended her so that she 
kept out of the way of other children. No sooner 
was school over than she left her companions and, 
being thus much alone, brooded over the beautiful 
future of her grandmother’s creation more than 
ever. Any child who lives not in the present, but 
silently dwells upon an anticipated future, ceases to 
be companionable to those of similar age, and 
therefore friendless among them. 

This reserve and taciturnness was quickly at- 
tributed to laziness and obstinacy, and pun- 
ished as such, but the punishment did but confirm 
her in her ways. From young and old she had suf- 
fered so much injustice and misapprehension that 
she soon became indifferent to both, and gave to 
her enemies equal scorn and dislike. This feeling 
was duly nourished and encouraged by the grand- 
mother. 

On one point Catherine resembled her persecutors 
— she was proud and ambitious. By inheritance 
the child possessed that same quickness and intelli- 
gence which had called Frau Deik’s attention to her 
mother, and thereby made her fortune. When she 
first entered the schoolroom the teacher was struck 
with her appearance, and in consequence of her 
obedience and industry, soon began to hold her up 
as example to the rest of his pupils. Of course this 
honor but intensified their dislike for her. It was 
a sore trial to have the object of their scorn and vi- 


54 


The Mask of Beauty, 


tuperation set before them as model. And the 
school-master’s praise naturally increased Cather- 
ine’s pride and haughtiness toward her companions. 
Finally she felt a kind of fierce joy because the 
children hated her, and because the teacher’s com- 
mendation of her scholarship tended to prove her 
grandmother’s teaching, that she was superior to 
them all. 

There was only one child in the village who ever 
had anything to do with Catherine. It was Chris- 
tian, the ma5^or’s son. He was two years older 
than she, and was already thinking of attending 
the pastor’s Kindcrlehre in Hela, from which he 
might, if he fancied, try the sailor’s life for a few 
years before settling down to be a fisherman. Chris- 
tian was a robust, well-grown boy, whom the mayor 
often took on the sea to render assistance in the 
hauling of the nets, and, because he was the only 
son of the most important man in the villages, he 
assumed the right to lord it over the other children. 

This boy, from a small child, could never bear to 
hear the jeers and taunts cast upon the little 
orphan. He did not spare her himself, but when 
others attacked her in his presence, his fist was 
doubled for defense. He valued the fact of her 
surpassing all the others at school and praised her 
for the accomplishment. 

But, outside, in play, when once or twice she took 
part and outstripped him, there were no bounds to 
his anger, and he would strike her with the will 
almost to draw blood. But when the others, thus 
encouraged, drew near with similar design, forth- 


The Mask of Beauty, 


55 


with, his vengeance would veer round against 
them and transform the enemy into friend. 

But Catherine did not thank him for his quasi- 
protection. She hated him as the usual source of 
all her troubles. He would always take precedence 
in the games and call upon her to admire his 
strength and dexterity. And, if she could not ex- 
press the desired wonder concerning his feats, then 
he would make her rue it surely. Thus she grew 
to fear him, and her former dislike, nourished by 
this feeling, became all-powerful. 



CHAPTER V. 


One afternoon in midsummer the beach was 
dotted with groups of women, anxiously awaiting 
the return of the fishermen, but the sun was almost 
down before the first sail came into view. Scarcely 
had this boat reached the water goldened by the 
setting sun than another and still another followed, 
and commotion and good humor reigned among 
expectant ones on the shore. From every cottage- 
door came forth women and children, breathless 
and full of interest, some carrying baskets and tubs 
to empty the fish into, and others knives with which 
to clean them. The lines in front of the houses 
were made ready for hanging the fish, and the vSalt 
vessels and other preparations for packing and 
smoking red herrings and flounders were in place. 

Amidst all this haste and industry of the grown 
people, many babies were crawling around like 
crabs in the warm, white sand. The larger chil- 
dren were playing games on the water’s edge, 

[56] 


The Mask of Bea^ity. 


57 


noisy, strong-, healthy boys and girls, with blonde 
hair and blue or gray eyes, looking honestly abroad 
above sunburnt cheeks. They were pressing as far 
out in the water as their short garments would 
allow, and were clothed poorly enough. 

If, now and then, a light, rapid wave shocked 
the flesh or dampened the clothing of one of the 
number, a breathless scream was uttered and echoed 
by all the other merry companions, but such an 
event only proved incentive to the victim to press 
farther in and find more, sources of amusement. 

But, even on this occasion, Catherine did not 
participate in the fun. She was lying stretched 
out on the bottom of a boat which was upturned 
for calking, with her head supported on her arm 
and eyes turned far beyond the children over the 
sea. She was now fourteen years old, and remark- 
ably well-grown for her age. Her dark, rich hair 
was twisted into a coil behind, but one truant, curly 
lock fell over her low, broad brow and red cheek. 
As the color of the hair distinguished the girl from 
the rest, so did her skin and large, earnest, black 
eyes. Her costume of faded striped-frieze skirt 
and outgrown jacket was poorest of all the shabby 
costumes. But the beautiful brown arms that pro- 
truded far below their covering and the well-shaped 
neck, which the jerkin failed to conceal, made her 
none the less attractive. 

No one seemed to notice her presence or beauty, 
however, for the women were fully occupied with 
their preparation for the fish-haul, and the children 
equally absorbed in their sports. But Christian, 


58 


The Mask of Beauty. 


tiring of this play, came on the beach and began 
to throw pebbles to see them glance again and 
again on the water before sinking forever. Soon 
the other boys followed to put their efforts against 
his, and, naturally, the whole crowd of children 
then deserted their wading to watch and applaud 
these feats of skill. But Christian, as Haaman was 
dissatisfied with homage as long as a Mordecai as- 
sented not, kept turning to Catherine to see what 
she thought of this or that effort. 

When the girl showed no signs of observing him, 
his zeal was but quickened, and, after his com- 
panions applauded for making the pebble spring 
six times, he proudly approached her and said : 

“ Catherine, did you see that ?” 

‘‘ What ?” replied she indifferently. 

“ Six times the stone jumped !” he said in a boast- 
ful voice. 

Catherine vouchsafed no reply, but settled herself 
more firmly on the boat, making a pretty model for 
a sea-nymph. But no such idea entered the minds 
of her companions. The women thought her lazy, 
the children cross ; and Christian, determined to 
make her flatter his self-love, repeated': 

“ Nobody else can do that !" 

Catherine smiled scornfully. 

This angered the boy, and he cried sharply : 

‘‘ Do better then ! Do it, if you can !” 

“ I can do it, but I will not !” she returned. 

Her defiance exasperated Christian beyond ex- 
pression. He hastily approached the boat, seized 
her by the arm and said threateningly ; 


The Mask of Beauty, 


59 


“ You shall do it !” 

“ I dare it !” cried the girl, freeing her arm with 
an effort and springing to the ground on the oppo- 
site side of the boat. Hastily she walked to the 
water’s edge, took a shining pebble from the beach, 
bent her slender body, extended her right hand and 
wslung the missile with such force that it sprang 
again and again until in the distance it fell beneath 
a wave. 

“ Eight times,” she said, turning with noncha- 
lance to resume her former easy position. But 
Christian rapidly placed himself in her pathway. 
Catherine stopped and cast a proud, scornful glance 
upon her persecutor. Next instant he had aimed a 
blow at her with his clenched fist which, avoiding 
by a quick bend, she returned with such expedition 
and force as to lay him sprawling on the sand. Of 
course this was a signal for all the other children 
to attack the offender. 

Two stout boys pinioned her arms so that the 
rest could pelt her with sand and stones. While 
Catherine was laboring to free herself, the mayor’s 
wife came forward and ordered the boys off. 

This woman was very large in figure, and pre- 
sented an imposing mien. Having drawn the girl 
from the circle of her enemies, she administered a 
sound slap on her face, pushed her roughly away 
and exclaimed : 

“Go home this minute! You seem to set old 
Satan loose wherever you go ! First you lie down 
there like a seal so that one can ’t tell whether you 
are asleep or awake, and when you get up begin 


6o 


The Mask of Beauty, 


quarreling and fighting. Take yourself home and 
beware of falling into my hands again !” 

Immediately turning upon her son, who had risen 
from his degradation, the irate woman continued, 
while she shook him well : 

“ You young rascal, why won't you let her alone ? 
If you don't, I ’ll make you repent it !” 

The action of the mayor’s wife produced an im- 
portant impression. Perfect stillness ensued. The 
women were more partial to her side, because 
Catherine was her husband’s ward, and soon they 
began to abuse the girl roundly. 

All the children ran to their mothers for protec- 
tion from the angry woman, and Christian stood 
with clenched fist watching Catherine’s receding 
figure. To think that she had gone away without 
either reproaching him or asking his pardon ! And 
yet fear of his mother prevented his following her. 
And so he stood, speechless and furious, until her 
form disappeared behind a house, and the first boat- 
landing gave a. turn to his thoughts. As usual, he 
was first to render assistance, and while he was thus 
employed Catherine reached her grandmother’s 
cottage. 

Without a word of greeting, she came to the old 
woman’s side. A cool, damp air met the child, as 
she came from the clear, sunny air into the room, 
whose only window gave poor light. A few flies 
hovered around the feeble rays of sunlight that 
penetrated the small orifices in the shutter. But 
Frau Klaass no longer seemed to desire either light 
or air. She sat in the darkest corner of the room 


The Mask of Beauty. 


6i 


— on the bench by the stove — spinning industri- 
ously. 

Catherine crossed the floor to the table by the 
window. On it lay a Bible (whose worn lids proved 
that it had served many generations), a catechism, 
a broken-rimmed slate and a half-knit stocking. 
The girl had secured her knitting, when the old 
woman asked : 

‘‘ Did you bring anything ?” 

“ No ; nothing.” 

“ Have they come yet ?” 

“ Yes ; they have just come. 

“ Was it a good haul ?” 

“ They had not landed when I left.” 

“ Why did you come away ?” was the reproachful 
question. 

“ Because the mayor’s wife slapped me,” was the 
short, dry response. 

“ Slapped you ?” repeated the old woman, strik- 
ing the bench beside her with the utterance 
of the words, and adding angrily : “ What for, 

pray?” 

“ Because Christian troubled me again, and I 
knocked him down,” answered Catherine calmly. 

Neither spoke for a long while again. The 
grandmother spun the brown wool into firm, small 
threads on her distaff, and the grandchild knitted 
row after row on her stocking. There was dead 
silence save the wh-r-r-r of the wheel and the 
clicking of the needles against the table and each 
other. 

When it became too dark to see, Frau Klaass 


62 


The Mask of Beauty, 


placed her wheel in the corner and hobbled to the 
table, whose drawer always kept the bread. At 
this moment some one tapped at the window, and 
Catherine went to see who it was. She recognized 
Christian’s voice, as he said : 

“ Come out ! I have something for you.” 

Receiving no response, the boy came around to 
the front door and repeated his message. Still 
neither woman deigned to make any reply, except 
that Frau Klaass called out sternly : 

“ Tell your mother that no decent dog will take 
food from the man who has beaten him, and we are 
not your dogs !” 

Christian stood irresolute. Presently he said, in 
a pleading tone of voice : 

“ Please come out, Catherine, for I have some- 
thing to tell you.” 

The girl looked inquiringly at her grandmother, 
and she said : 

“ Go, see what he wants.” 

Outside the boy stood quietly awaiting her. In 
one hand he held a bunch of fresh haddock, and in 
the other a plate of salt. Scarcely daring to look 
at Catherine, he blurted out : 

“ Mother greets your grandmother, and asks her 
to receive these, for you haven’t had any.” 

“Take them to her, yourself!” said Catherine 
coldly, as she took a seat upon a pine-stump nearby. 

The boy thought an instant, and then quickly 
entered the cottage. He soon returned without his 
gift, and, instead of going home, approached the 
girl who was eating her bread and, seemingly. 


The Mask of Beauty. 


^3 


oblivious of his proximity. He came quite close 
and stood silent and still. 

“ What makes you stay here ?” asked Catherine, 
crossly. 

Christian was speechless with embarrassment. 
After a little, he thrust his hand into his trousers’ 
pocket, drew out a large piece of amber, held it 
shyly toward her and said : 

“ See what I found a few weeks ago ! Don’t you 
want it ?” 

“ Stolen goods it is !” was the scornful reply. 

Don’t you know all amber belongs to the crown, 
and anybody that finds it should give it up ?” 

“ But,” said Christian apologetically, “ this is brown 
and ugly, and nobody would give it up.” 

I keep nothing that I find,” she returned. Be- 
sides, if it is ugly, what do I want with it ?” 

The boy was utterly powerless to answer this 
crushing ^argument. How gladly would he have 
told her that he was sorry for having struck her, 
but he could not begin. He was afraid of exciting 
her resentment afresh by reference to the griev- 
ance, and, by way of preparing the way, he 
stammered : 

“ Mother sent the fish — because — because she was 
afraid your grandmother would do me some harm !” 

So ridiculous was this assertion that it tended to 
soothe the girl’s feelings. 

“ If my grandmother had so much power,” she 
said sadly, “ we would not live here so poor and 
needy !” 

Then she rose and turned toward the house. 


64 


The Mask of Beauty. 


Suddenly she felt her apron seized by her com- 
panion, as he ejaculated feelingly : 

“ Don’t hate me, Catherine !” 

“ It is your own fault,” returned Catherine ; “you 
always injure me, and I don’t want to see you ever 
again !” 

Once more Christian seized her, but this time by 
the arm, and cried passionately : 

“ Oh, don’t, don’t say so!” 

“What do you want now?” said the girl with 
visible impatience. 

“ Pray, don’t say you never want to see me 
again ! See here ! I will give you my Heckpfennigy 
Catherine. It was my grandfather’s and my father’s, 
and you may have it.” 

But Catherine thrust back the offered gift de- 
cisively, and her action i^estored Christian to his 
senses. In a tone of mingled resentment and emo- 
tion, he said : • 

“ Remember, Catherine, if anybody else gives 
you anything, I mean to kill him !” and quickly 
disappeared in the darkness. 

* By superstition supposed to multiply itself. 




CHAPTER VI. 

From that night it was remarkable how Christian 
refrained from troubling Catherine, and his conduct 
was attributed to fear of his mother. When the 
children laughed at him about this he was vexed, 
and, not being able to give the true reason for his 
altered behavior, asserted that he stood in awe of 
the old witch, Frau Klaass. 

Meantime, Catherine led a more peaceful life, 
because the village children cared for no enterprise 
which Christian did not lead ; and soon an event 
occurred which entirely separated her from these 
unpleasant companions. 

One morning old Herr Mathes (or Mathes, as he 
was called), who had for years served as shepherd 
for the village sheep, was found dead in his bed, 
and the mayor was at a loss to find a substitute for 
him. The men and women could not leave their 
work, and, of the children, some were too wild and 
others too absentminded to watch the flock. Be- 
sides, it was demoralizing to take them from school. 
The mayor, in desperation, thought of Catherine, 
and decided to entrust her with the responsibility, 
at least until somebody else was procured. He 

[65] 


66 


The Mask of Beaiiiy. 


knew that he could trust her fidelity, and, in the 
woods, she could knit as well as at home. He 
counted on the schoolmaster’s approval, because 
that worthy person owned two of the sheep. 

And, lastly, the thought of doing the good work 
of giving his ward employment gratified him. So 
he summoned the girl, announced his wish and 
sent her to fetch the staff and dog from Mathes’s 
house. It was about eight o’clock in the morning 
when Catherine entered the cottage where lay the 
dead shepherd. The old man looked very natural 
lying there on the bed, with his gray hair hanging- 
on his brow and his scrubby beard on his chin and 
his face no paler than usual. But his eyes were 
closed and his arms folded, and the girl imagined 
that he looked more peaceful and contented than 
in all the years she had known him. Never before 
had she been alone with a corpse, and it was hard 
to believe that Mathes was really dead. Just the 
evening before he had talked with Frau Klaass and 
given her some fir cones from his pocket. And not 
many days before that she had met him in the 
woods, and he had told her the wonderful story of 
the Sea Spirit, who brings good fortune to the one 
who sees it by day and bad fortune when seen by 
night. Moreover, he had made his dog Pinor 
show off all his clever tricks — that Pinor, about 
whom he had often said that he would not exchange 
for carriages and horses, because he made his bread 
for him, while they would cost money to keep. 
Was it possible that Mathes was lying there dead 
so soon ? Pinor sat near by looking, first at his 


The Mask of Beauty. 


67 


master and then at Catherine, made a move as if to 
spring on the bed, kept still, and hung his ears so 
dejectedly that the girl transferred her sympathy 
from the contented dead master to the forlorn, 
friendless dog. 

Catherine felt a delicacy about taking the shep- 
herd’s staff from its corner and calling the dog to 
follow.. Such acts seemed like robbery of the dead. 
Still, the mayor was impatiently awaiting her, and 
she was obliged to execute his order. Timidly she 
approached the corpse and softly said : 

“ Mathes, may I have your staff ? I am going to 
tend the flock. May Pinor go with me ?” 

The awful silence that greeted the request filled 
her with nameless terror, so still more earnestly she 
pleaded : 

“ Please, Mathes, tell Pinor to go with me. The 
mayor is waiting.” 

The dog, hearing his name, wagged his tail, 
pricked his ears, ran to the open door and seemed to 
ask Catherine to leave. Thus encouraged, the girl 
fetched the staff from its place, gave a last glance 
of wonder and emotion to the corpse, went out of 
the house and carefully fastened the door behind 
her. 

Pinor took the lead. He seemed to think that it 
was his business to take care of the young shep- 
herdess as well as the flock. Before every house 
where there were sheep to be collected he stopped, 
barked and sprang around Catherine, as if to show 
her her duty. Armed with good advice and friendly 
warning from the mayor and others, Catherine set 


68 


The Mask of Beauty. 


out behind the little flock for the neighboring 
woods, where pasture was found. 

The girl was full of joyous anticipations. It was 
an August day when the sun blazed down upon the 
earth, causing the whitish-yellow sands to glitter 
like metal. Sea and sky shone forth in the same 
lovely blue tints. 

Catherine wore over her head to protect it from 
the heat an old kerchief ; in her apron were knitting, 
bread and dried fish ; on her arm a small bucket of 
water ; in her hand the shepherd s staff. This was 
her first experience of spending as much as a day 
out of Heisternest, and she felt as if it was a long 
journey into a new world. 

No longer did she seem a child since she was en- 
trusted with the care of these beautiful sheep, and 
in her pride for this honor she forgave the villagers 
their previous wrongs and persecutions. 

The flock appeared very different in her eyes to- 
day from the many times she had seen them pass- 
ing to and from pasture. Every one of them 
excited wonder and curiosity. It was delight to 
see how dexterously Pinor massed them together 
when, perchance, some would stray a little, and 
only the thought that she must walk as slowly and 
dignifiedly as Mathes prevented her from rendering 
him assistance. 

The distance to the woods was short, and the 
small procession soon reached its destination. Many 
a time had the girl been to this grove for fuel, but 
now it was transformed like the chamber , of her 
grandmother on the ever memorable-Christmas 


The Mask of Beauty. 


69 


Eve ! As then she stepped from darkness into 
beautiful light, so to-day she viewed the attractions 
of the woods for the first time without human com- 
panions. 

She felt as if enchanted by all around her, for 
nature presents wonders and secrets at midday as 
well as at midnight. And who would not be en- 
chanted to find a grove of regular, slender trees on 
the downs ? The trees are not especially tall, and 
a few capriciously grown like mountain timber, but 
the trunks stand close together, and, to the girl 
who had never seen other ones, had all the majesty 
and witchery of a forest. The pine-trunks, over 
which arched their leafy canopy, resembled red- 
hued columns, and well contrasted with the dark- 
green, needle foliage. 

Over the whole ground spread innumerable nar- 
row-leaved bushes, among whose boughs peered 
the whortleberries like violet jewels. Here and 
there waved a red pink, a blue Coventry-bell on 
their slender stems. Large, beautiful ferns and 
small golden mushrooms clustered at the foot of 
trees above the grass and stray roots, while heavy 
moss hung from their branches like small banners. 
The quiet of nature was broken by the hum of a 
bee, the flight of a butterfly or the noise of a dragon 
fly. To complete the witchery, a strong wood-smell 
filled the air with its fragrance. 

A little way beyond the trees is a small elevation, 
which the village children call a hill, and as Pinor 
drove the flock toward this, Catherine willingly 
followed. Often had she seen Mathes sit in this. 


70 


The Mask of Beauty. 


spot, and sometimes joined him when search for 
fuel, berries or mushrooms led her steps thither. 
But this place, like all the rest, was changed. Some- 
how, she felt a dread lest all this beauty would 
presently disappear like the wonders of the Christ- 
mas tree. And she, herself, seemed altered. There 
was so much to do, that she was bewildered which 
to first undertake. She wanted to knit, but there 
was plenty of time for that. She thought of eating 
her lunch, but she was not hungry. And, besides, 
with such a wealth of berries around, it was foolish 
to eat black bread. Eagerly she began to pluck 
them, but suddenly stopped, because she realized that 
she was not paying sufficient attention to the sheep. 
Then she became interested in counting them and 
watching their individual peculiarities. The large 
sheep with their patient ways, the lambs with their 
frolicsome gambols, and even the ram with his 
dignified air gave her especial joy. 

After running around some time with Pinor until 
she was tired, she sat down. The dog, seeming to 
understand that he belonged to her, came and laid 
his head on her lap. Passionately, Catherine seized 
him round the neck and kissed him, and never since 
she was a baby in her grandmother’s arms had she 
embraced a being with such fervor. 

Then, because she was so happy, the girl deter- 
mined to do twice as much knitting as commanded, 
and took out the stocking dutifully. But, somehow, 
she could keep neither eyes nor attention upon her 
work. 

Pinor — wagging his tail to cool himself, or snap- 


The Mask of Beauty. 


71 


ping at the flies or rushing after this or that sheep, 
which wandered too far for his pleasure — contin- 
ually distracted her thoughts and looks. 

When she saw the larger animal meekly receive 
the scolding bark of the smaller and obediently do 
his will, surprise filled her breast, and meditation on 
the difference between creatures her mind. 

Watching the sagacious dog made her think of 
his master, who had taught him these ways, and, 
instinctively turning to him, she cried : 

Pinor, where is Mathes?” 

A pitiful whine and uneasy running around was 
the poor dog’s answer. He started homeward, re- 
turned, made a circle around the flock several 
times, as if assuring himself of their safety, again 
took the path to the village, barking as te went, 
and finally came back slowly, with collapsed ears 
and tail, and laid himself at Catherine’s feet. The 
girl felt greater pity for him than she did by the 
master’s corpse. She tenderly stroked his head, his 
yellow ears and long nose. vSuch caresses soon 
brought the appreciative Pinor’s head into her lap. 

“ Stay with me, poor fellow,” said the girl, “ and 
I will give you something.” 

As he gratefully licked one hand, she took out 
her lunch of black bread with the other and fed 
him with pieces until all was gone. 

This act sealed the bond of friendship, and the 
girl saw good reason why Mathes would not have 
exchanged the animal for a carriage and horses. 

When the hour arrived for returning home, 
Pinor, of his own accord, collected the sheep, and 


72 


The Mask of Beauty. 


then, with little assistance from Catherine, led 
them to water at the village brook and afterward 
into their respective stalls. Then, turning from 
the shepherdess, he reached the house where his 
dead master lay, and planting himself by the closed 
door, howled most piteously until the neighbors, 
whose rest he disturbed, drove him off with kicks 
and lashes. 




CHAPTER VIL 

Because Catherine had so well performed her 
duty, the mayor continued to entrust her with the 
flock. Nothing- could have given her more pleas- 
ure than to be again in the woods with Pinor and 
the sheep. Expectation made her rise by daylight, 
and it seemed a long time ere Pinor summoned her 
with loud barking to departure. She knew that the 
mayor would have dinner sent to her grandmother, 
and she promised herself to make up for time lost 
on her knitting the previous day. It was the most 
blissful moment of the girl’s life when she reached 
the woods at an early hour. 

The dew on the green moss and the pine-tags 
trembled and glittered like tiny stars, and the air 
was fresh and invigorating. But, as the sun’s rays 
grew warmer, the flock pressed further within the 
belt of woods, which covers two miles of space be- 
tween the village and the town of Hela. 

On the narrowest part of the peninsula the trees 
almost reach the water, and toward this place 
Catherine drove the flock. Yesterday she had en- 
joyed quiet and thought, but to-day she sought di- 

[73] 



74 . 


The Mask of Beauty. 


version and amusement. Of course Pinor furnished 
her no end of these. His graceful, active pursuit 
of butterflies excited her emulation, and in follow- 
ing him she soon reached the end of the woods. 
From the leafy, cool shade of the trees she suddenly 
came upon the sparkling, sun-lit sand, and the daz- 
zling beach and sea forced her to close her eyes. 
As she stood thus, bewitched by the novel surround 
ings, she thought that just so charming must be 
her father’s home far away, and opening her eyes 
again, lo ! a sight met them which sent a tremor of 
delight through her frame. On the waves of the 
sea rose a strange, beautiful country adorned with 
heights, castles and trees such as she had never 
seen, all of which were mirrored in an expansive 
lake below. The girl had never heard of such a 
land nearby, and she stood gazing at it with min- 
gled feelings of awe and wonder. 

Remembering that sailors when they see it cry 
out from the boat, she excitedly placed both hands 
around her mouth and called at the top of her 
voice : 

Land ! Land ! Land !” 

But almost before the words died away, the mys- 
terious beautiful country vanished from her eager 
sight, and the wSea smoothed out as usual under the 
blue arch of heaven. For a few moments Catherine 
felt as if the peninsula itself was gone, but Pinor’s 
familiar bark in answer to her voice recalled her to 
reality. 

Filled with indescribable longing, she stood in 
the blazing sun, looking out upon the sea. Presently 


The Mask of Beauty. 


7S 


the distant white lighthouse of Hela struck her 
vision, and roused serious intentions. She deter- 
mined to go to the place, mount the lighthouse 
and look out for the wonderful sight which 
she had just lost. Perhaps it was the home of 
her father, about whose beauties her grandmother 
had often discoursed. And might she dare to 
tell the old woman what she had to-day en- 
joyed ? 

So absorbed was she in these deep thoughts that 
the sheep were utterly forgotten and Pinor more 
than once during the day found it next to impossi- 
ble to elicit his usual caresses. 

In the evening when the two separated in the 
village, she allowed him to leave without a single 
word of endearment. 

As the day was sultr}^ Catherine found her 
grandmother sitting on the threshold of the cottage, 
spinning as usual. She did not inquire how her 
grandchild had spent the day, for such is not the 
custom with the indigent, hard-working class, to 
whom each day is but a copy of its predecessor. 
She only took the knitting out of her hand, wound 
up the ball, stuck one needle in it and produced the ^ 
fellow of the stocking from her pocket. Then she 
laid the completed one, on which was marked with 
a needle the expected amount of work, against the 
other, and compared them with the same degree of 
care as if life or death depended upon a hair’s dif- 
ference. 

“ Grandmother,” cried the girl, in answer to a 
gesture of displeasure, “ it is very little !” 


76 


The Mask of Beatity, 


“Very little,” was the severe response, “when 
you have been sitting down all day.” 

“Not sitting — ” 

“Pray, then, what have you been doing?” 

“ Grandmother,” said Catherine, glancing around 
to assure herself that she was not overheard, “ I 
have seen something !” 

The girl’s voice expressed a superstitious awe, 
which immediately took possession of the old 
woman. 

“ Seen something?” she repeated. “ In the wood?” 

“ No, on the sea.” 

“ In clear daylight?” was the astonished response. 

“ In the bright sunlight. I followed Pinor out 
of the woods, and saw on the water my father’s 
native land, with such lovely castles and mountains 
and trees. There were so many more houses than 
here, and I saw them so plainly that I called out : 

‘ Land !’ and felt like I could reach it. But before I 
could move, everything went away.” 

Frau Klaass made no reply. She knew that what 
Catherine described was true, for during long years 
other people had seen the same sight. She re- 
membered distinctly that her mother was acquainted 
with the son of such a favored mortal. He had seen 
the enchanted city rise out of the waves — called 
out land — stepped toward it and found it disappear. 
Who had not heard of the Sunken City ? For cen- 
turies it had lain at the bottom of the sea, and only 
once a century presented its enchanted loveliness 
to human eye. And, sometimes, when the sea was 
very still, fishermen had seen .its tall trees at the 


The Mask of Beauty. 


77 


bottom of the deep. How often had her father 
told her this ? Who did not know that the one who 
saw the beautiful city once a century and neither 
spoke nor moved would receive from the Sea Spirit 
— king- pf the same — a sack of gold with which to 
pray his soul out of purgatory ? 

After a while, she asked : 

“ Was that all ?” 

“ Where ?” returned the girl. 

'‘On the sea,” said the grandmother, impressively. 
“ Mathes used to say — ” 

There was no need to finish the sentence, for 
Catherine understood her meaning, and put in : 

“ No, he did not come out !” 

And though she knew that the Sea Spirit had no 
power on land, a shiver ran over her and she pressed 
close to her grandmother’s side. 

“ Was Pinor there ?” asked the old woman, as if 
a sudden light had come to her. 

“ Yes, he was. He saw it all and, when it was 
gone, began to bark.” ’ 

Catherine was, like many others, betrayed into a 
slight inaccuracy in her narrative by the infiuence 
of her grandmother’s superstition. 

Both were thoroughly terrified, and could not 
converse longer on the subject. Frau Klaass had 
entirely forgotten the knitting and measurement. 
She rose and called her grandchild into the house. 
Within, they only spoke in whispers of the experi- 
ence. Catherine was troubled to find the beautiful 
sight the Sunken City and not her father’s home. 

Frau Klaass was bewildered by the girl’s re vela- 


78 


The Mask of Beauty. 


tion. Really, before this, she had no more believed 
Mathes’s tales about the Sea Spirit than the idle 
talk about her power to do her enemies injury. 
But since her own grandchild had seen such a won- 
der, why might she not possess the accredited gift? 
In trying to explain why the girl had been so 
favored, she thought she remembered that she was 
born on Sunday — a sign of good luck — and why 
might not the sickness or trouble of this and that 
one, which came to mind, be in consequence of of- 
fenses to herself ? 

A wild, fierce joy entered her heart with the 
thought. How gladly would she revenge herself 
upon her persecutors now as in the past ! To be- 
lieve that she could, at will, bring misfortune upon 
them was a cheering, pleasant idea, and she laid 
herself to rest by her grandchild’s side that night 
in better ‘spirits than she had enjoyed for years. 
The girl quickly fell into the arms of Morpheus, 
while the old woman lay restless and excited. 

Slie felt a presentiment that something of grave 
importance was to occur, and the longer it delayed 
the^more alert she became. The room was entirely 
dark, except where the moonlight penetrated the 
diamond-shaped holes in the shutters. To this spot 
of light she kept her eyes turned. Suddenly a 
slight noise was heard outside — a noise surely ap- 
proaching her door, but different from a person’s 
step. Though she listened in fear, she never 
turned her glance from the shutter. Suddenly her 
heart seemed to stop beating, as a pair of staring 
eyes met her own. In spite of her age, she covered 


The Mask of Beauty. 


79 


her face with her hands and called Catherine ex- 
citedly. Seizing the girl’s small arm with her 
knotty hand, she shook her and cried : 

Catherine ! Look ! Don’t you see something?” 

Hardly awakened, the frightened girl gasped : 

“A long, white arm !” and clung tightly to her 
grandmother. 

Just then a low howl was heard. 

Pinor, who had been cruelly beaten from his post 
at Mathes’s door, had come to seek protection from 
his new mistress. 

The dog’s voice and Catherine’s assertion of the 
death -arm seemed to calm Frau Klaass. She told 
the girl to open the door for Pinor, and, when he 
was comfortably curled up by the bed, composed 
herself to rest. But presently she rose in the 
bed, regarded the dog and exclaimed : 

“ Mathes has sent you Pinor, so that you will not 
be all alone when I go !” 

“Where are you going, grandmother?” cried 
Catherine, in emotion. 

“ Mathes has beckoned me away with his hand, 
and will soon fetch me off,” was the quiet response. 

Then the girl began to weep so bitterly as to ex- 
cite the grandmother’s sympathy. 

Tears fell over her wasted cheeks upon the girl’s 
pretty head. And, contrary to custom, she folded 
her in her arms, and both fell asleep, worn out with 
terror and distress. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Next day, when the mayor’s wife sent Frau 
Klaass her dinner, she said to the bearer of it ; 

“ Tell her that I don’t want any more food. 
Mathes has called me away.” 

The girl regarded the old woman in wondering 
interest, for the belief in death omens is prevalent 
among the people to this day. 

“Did a dog howl in front of your door?” she 
asked. 

“ Yes,” was the solemn answer. 

“ We heard it last night, and wondered where it 
was,”. said the girl, moving off. 

“ Wait a minute !” cried Frau Klaass. 

What do you want?” asked the other, to whom 
the old woman, as a probable victim of death, had 
become interesting. 

For a few minutes Frau Klaass meditated, and 
then said quickly : 

“ Tell the mayor to come at once. I must see 
him.” 

The girl assented and kept her word, but as the 
mayor was out fishing, everybody in the village 
knew about the event ere his return. Before his 
rsoi 


The Mask of Beauty, 


8i 


boat touched the shore the news was communicated, 
and as soon as possible he went to her. 

The old woman was sitting, not in her usual seat 
on the threshold, but outside under the canopy of 
heaven. 

The mayor approached her and said in surprise : 

I thought you were nearly dead by your sum- 
moning me in haste, and here you sit alive and 
well.” 

Because I am going soon I sit here in the warm 
sun,” she answered calmly. 

“ Why haven’t you always done it ?” he asked in 
greater surprise, not comprehending the hidden 
meaning of her words. 

Slowly shaking her head, she replied : 

“ I never could air myself before somebody else’s 
door. Why show everybody my poverty? But 
now I will be here so short a time that I don’t care.” 

“ Why speak of dying while you are well ?” per- 
sisted the mayor. “ This talk about Mathes is fool- 
ishness.” 

Laugh if you choose,” she returned, “ but you 
will live to see who knows best. But that is not 
what I want,” and now she spoke with deep feeling. 

Mayor, what will become of Catherine when I die ? 
Remember you are her guardian.” 

“She must go into service,” replied he, quickly, 
while he meditated how to best cut short the inter- 
view and return to his business. 

“ Yes, she must go into service,” repeated Frau 
Klaass. “ But to whom ?” 

“We must first find out who wants her. She is 


82 


The Mask of Beauty, 


not yet fourteen years old, but strong and well- 
grown for her age,” said the mayor, growing more 
impatient. 

For a few moments the old woman was silent. 
Then she solemnly resumed : 

Mayor, I have complained of no one, nor asked 
anything but work. Nor have I done anybody 
harm, though I might have done it, and yet I can’t 
leave Catherine in the village.” 

By this time her companion was thoroughly an- 
noyed. Pressing engagements awaited him while 
he was made to stand and listen to the flighty dis- 
course of Frau Klaass. He suddenly determined 
to bear this no longer, and sharply replied : 

“ If you want me to do anything, make haste and 
tell me, for I must go home.” 

“Yes,” she said eagerly, “ I do want you to do 
something. Write to Frau Deik, in Hela, who took 
my child and treated her well, and ask her if she 
will not take Catherine in the shop. Tell her she 
only asks food and clothing for her services, and 
will serve her well. If only she can get there I will 
lie down and die peacefully.” 

This plan struck the mayor as a good one. 
Catherine had, indeed, shown herself capable of 
tending the flock, but she could not permanently 
watch them. Moreover, it would soon be time to 
send her to receive religious instruction from the 
pastor of Hela — the nearest Lutheran minister — 
and to put her in service in the village and then 
send her miles off day after day would make her 
help very little in the household. And, lastly, it 


The Mask of Beauty. 83 


would be a blessing to rid Heisternest of one more 
orphan. So he cheerfully promised Frau Klaass to 
write the letter, and left her grateful. 

Next morning the old woman’s condition was un- 
changed, and day followed day without signs of 
dying. The neighbors were thereby both puzzled 
and fretted. Most of them had relented in their 
hatred toward her when they heard that she would 
soon die, but when time passed on without bringing 
the expected event, one by one, they began to be- 
lieve she had only resorted to this subterfuge to ex- 
tract the desired promise from the mayor. After a 
little, no one believed that she had seen old Mathes 
except Catherine and herself. From morning till 
night she now sat in the sun, declaring that she was 
chilled away from it. And when any one chided 
her with false prediction she would solemnly affirm 
that no mortal ever stayed more than three weeks 
on earth after being called, and she would soon an- 
swer her summons. 

Meanwhile, Catherine went regularly to the 
woods with the sheep and dog, and, as soon as the 
heat of the day began, repaired to the spot where 
she had seen the beautiful sea-vision. She could 
readily have spent hours — nay, days — sitting there, 
looking over the glancing waves and filled with en- 
chanting hopes. With every change or coloring in 
the clouds just above the sea-line, imagination pic-^ 
tured the return of the wonderful Sunken Cityf^ 
But the forms and hues of these clouds, peculiarly 
attractive on the Baltic, ever disappeared as rapidly 
as the enchanted sight desired had done, and each 


84 The Mask of Bea^dy, 


evening brought disappointment for the day and 
hope for the morrow. In spite of Frau Klaass’s as- 
sertion that what she had seen was the Sunken 
City, which only once in a century rose on the 
waves, Catherine could not repress the thought that 
it might be her father’s home, and, as she feared to 
speak to any one of her idea, she became abstracted 
and dreamy. 

One evening just before the time to return home, 
she discovered that, in consequence of these medi- 
tations, she had not quite finished her allotted task 
on the stocking, and, therefore, set industriously to 
accomplish it. 

Her feelings about her grandmother’s death were 
much relieved since, after the terror of the memoi- 
able night, she had neither died nor been sick. 

And yet at the bottom of her heart she believed 
Mathes would return for her grandmother. A pang 
of distress seized her at the thought that when the 
dear grandmother was gone she would have no one 
to set her tasks. 

She began to calculate how long a time had passed 
since she saw the old shepherd laid out on his bed, 
and found it seventeen days. If Mathes kept his 
word, in four more days he would take away her 
grandmother and leave her all alone in the wide 
world. The thought struck her like a heavy blow. 
Where would she go at night? With whom would 
she sleep? In vain she searched her mind for 
answers. 

It was true that she knew of orphans who had 
been provided for, but, like all people under the 


The Mask of Beauty 


85 


weight of first personal sorrow, she did not think of 
applying their good fate to her own case. She only 
remembered that the villagers had always disliked 
and often mistreated her. And the bare idea 
of failing to go at night to her grandmother — of 
failing to sleep by her side as she had always done 
— was agony. All the consolations, all the care of 
that life-long friend loomed up before her mind. 
And who else could ever tell her the stories about 
her mother and her father ? Selfishness was the 
root of all these meditations about her grandmother. 
She realized fully that from her death great mis- 
fortune would follow. Just then Pinor softly placed 
his head in her lap, as if to comfort her, and she 
sadly said as she stroked him : 

“ Ah, you are old, too, Pinor, and will soon leave 
me.” 

Suddenly the dog pricked his ears, ran a little 
way and barked. 

Catherine followed his movements with her eye, 
and saw Christian step out from the woods. The 
girl had scarcely spoken to him since the evening 
of the last difficulty between them, and his visit was 
now unwelcome. He walked to her side, and re- 
ceiving no salutation,' said apologetically : 

“ I have been to Hela to get yeast, for ours was 
out and we needed bread.” 

“ Did you go early?” asked the girl. 

“ About seven, when the children were going to 
school.” 

“ Do people go to town through the woods?” 

“ Yes, they can, but it is better to go by water,” 


86 


The Mask of Beauty. 


and adding hastily : “ I just came this way to see 
what you were doing.” 

Catherine seemed to fail to notice this personality, 
and continued : 

“ Did you go up to the top of the lighthouse ?” 

Yes, the keeper’s son took me up.” 

And what did you see ?” was the eager question. 

“See? Why, nothing!” he answered, surprised. 

“ Nothing !” she replied in disappointnient. 

“ Nothing but water. Beyond that, to the south, 
was something dark, which was the mainland. 
Nothing else !” 

Catherine did not reply. 

He stood by her side and watched her knitting. 
Now and then he glanced uneasily toward the sun, 
which was nearly down. He knew that 4pie ought 
to go, and yet he could not break away. At last he 
said desperately : 

“ Do you love to keep the sheep ?” 

“ Better than staying in the village,” she replied, 
and, simultaneously, glancing up, cried : 

“ The storks ! The storks !” 

A long line of these birds were flying overhead, 
making numerous turns in flight. Both watched 
them as far as they could be seen. 

“ The summer is over !” said Christian. 

“ And everything else,” was the sad reply. 

The boy could not understand her dejected tone, 
and queried : 

“ What is going away ?” 

“ Mathes is gone, and soon my grandmother will 
follow !” she said oracularly. 


The Mask of Beauty. 


87 


She is not going to die, she only says so !” was 
the consoling reply. 

But his words, instead of having the desired 
effect, roused Catherine’s indignation. 

I tell you she is, for I saw Mathes beckon her 
away the very night after I saw the beautiful city 
on the sea.” 

When Christian smiled incredulously, the girl 
grew more excited and was beguiled to relate, in 
the high colors of superstition and repetition, the 
episode which filled her day and night dreams. 

The boy’s expression changed from derision to 
interest, and now understanding why she asked 
about the lighthouse, he replied, when she stopped 
out of breath : 

You are going to live in Hela when your grand- 
mother dies?” 

“ In Hela?”- gasped Catherine, as if thunderstruck. 

Yes !” repeated he with importance. “ See here, 
I have in the pocket of my coat a letter !” 

With these words, he drew forth from his blue 
Sunday jacket the missive, proudly showed it tjo 
her, and added : 

“ This is from Frau Deik to my father ! And 
she told me to say that, if you were as good as 
your mother was, she would take you in the shop !” 

Catherine did not reply, but dropped her knitting 
in her lap and covered her eyes with both hands. 
Christian, who expected quite a different reception 
to his news, asked what was the matter, and receiv- 
ing no reply, repeated his question again and again. 

Finally Catherine sobbed out : 


88 


The Mask of Beauty. 


“ When Mathes — died and — Pinor lay by the 
door of his house — he was kicked and whipped 
away !” 

“ But why should you grieve for that, Catherine ?” 
interrupted the boy. 

Because they drive me away like a dog !” was 
the passionate response as she buried her face on 
her knees and sobbed aloud. 

The dog, hearing his name called, came up and 
thrust his nose lovingly against her face. Catherine 
impulsively returned his caress, and Christian, ob- 
serving it, said consolingly : 

“ You can take him to town with you. And in 
the fall I will see you every week, for I have to go 
to the pastor for instruction.” 

But the girl did not seem to appreciate this alle- 
viation of her woe. She wiped her eyes, rolled up 
her knitting, and prepared to go home. Pinor, 
with usual sagacity, collected the sheep and drove 
them forward. The children followed, but in 
silence. Just before the village was reached Cath- 
erine suddenly asked : 

“ Where will the storks sleep to-night ?” 

“ Far south of Dantzig, I suppose,” he answered. 

“ When I go I would like to get as far away.” 

“ I, too !” exclaimed Christian, with interest. 
“ And when I go to sea, Catherine, I will take you 
far away.” He paused, expecting her to ask what 
she would see there, but as she showed no curiosity, 
he added shyly ; “ Catherine, if I get to be a pilot, 
I will return and marry you.” 

“ By that time I will be far off,” was the unmoved 


The Mask of Beauty, 


89 


reply. Not another word was spoken by either, 
and when they reached the mayor’s door they sepa- 
rated without saying good-night. 

On reaching home, Catherine found her grand- 
mother in bed and her food untouched on the table. 
She did not complain of anything but chilliness, 
and directed the girl to eat the food which her taste 
rejected. While Catherine was enjoying it with 
the zest of youth and health, the mayor appeared, 
and manifested great surprise to find things as they 
were. In answer to his questions the old woman 
dryly replied : 

“ One who don’t work should not eat. Besides, 
it is sinful to fatten the dying for the worms. But 
Catherine has long to live, and needs food.” 

The mayor, although remarkably free from super- 
stition and death omens, felt a chill run over his 
body as she spoke. It gave him both surprise and 
aversion to hear the old creature, who knew no 
more of the hour of death than other mortals, speak 
of the terrible event with such perfect coolness. 
So he shortly replied : 

“ Frau Klaass, you commit sin to refuse to eat in 
this way. God alone knows your death hour, and 
you have no right to starve yourself.” 

“ I have been called,” was the undaunted reply, 
“ and therefore I go !” After a little pause she 
cried earnestly . “ Have you gotten an answ’er to 

your letter?” 

“ Yes, and that ’s why I came to see you.” Frau 
Klaass strove to conceal her joy, as the mayor con- 
tinued : “ Frau Deik will take Catherine in the 


QO 


The Mask of Beauty, 


shop if vshe is like her mother. Christian has just 
given me her letter.” 

Before leaving, the kind-hearted man tried to in- 
duce her to eat something and have some medicine. 
Finding his eloquence useless, he at last became 
provoked and exclaimed sharply : 

“You are the cause of your own trouble, and if 
you will not eat then you will kill yourself !” 

The old woman scornfully replied : 

“ You cannot cheat death with food. Just let me 
alone.” 

The mayor closed the door behind him with more 
than usual force and wended homeward. 

No sooner was he gone than Frau Klaass called 
Catherine to the bed, and said : 

“ When I am dead and buried you will go to live 
with Frau Deik in Hela.” 

“Yes,” assented the girl. 

“ Did you know it before ?” 

“ Christian told me about it.” 

“ Your mother did well with Frau Deik, and so 
will you, if you do your duty.” 

“ Yes,” repeated the girl, as she seated herself 
by the bedside. Then ensued a long silence. 
Catherine knew not whether her grandmother was 
awake or asleep, and she dared not go to bed as 
Usual. Fain would she have relieved her burdened 
heart by weeping, but the tears refused to flow. 
At last she fell asleep in the chair and rested 
quietly until Pinor’s restless movements near by 
caused her to open her eyes and observe that the 
day had dawned. Turning to the bed, her startled 


The Mask of Beauty. 


91 


glance met the figure of her grandmother sitting 
up in bed and loosing the precious bag of jewels 
from her neck. 

“ Open the shutter and come here !” she cried to 
the half-awakened girl. 

Catherine quickly obeyed. When she turned 
from the window, the old woman was extricating 
with feeble fingers the large earrings and motioned 
to the girl to fasten them in her ears. Then, with 
her own hands, she clasped the coral necklace in 
its place. 

Catherine had often looked forward to this hour 
with exultation, but the circumstances were so 
alarming that she recoiled involuntarily, and 
gasped : 

“ No ! I don’t — want them, grandmother !” 

But you must,” was the stern repl}^ for they 
are your mother’s legacy to you, which I have kept 
all these years. Now, you must wear them when 
you walk behind my coffin and ever afterward, so 
that everybody will know you are better than the 
others, and your father’s people will recognize you 
when they come for you, for come they will. 
Mathes has just told me so.” 

“ Mathes !” repeated the girl, in terror. “ Mathes 
here !” 

“ Did you not see how glad Pinor was?” was the 
solemn answer.' 

And just then the dog rose and went toward the 
door, but Catherine dared not look toward him. 
She kept her eyes upon the old woman staring 
straight at the open window. 


92 


The Mask of Beauty. 


Wild with horror and despair, she presently 
rushed out of the house to summon help. A few 
steps from the door she met a woman carrying a 
water-bucket, and, seizing her arm, tried to draw 
her toward the cottage. But the terrified counte- 
nance and speechless haste plainly showing the 
neighbor Catherine’s meaning, the superstitious 
creature freed herself and ran for other assistance. 
When the hopeless girl reentered the cottage she 
•found her grandmother unmoved, except that her 
breath was more difficult. 

In possession of her senses still, the dying one 
drew the girl to her and stroked her head, and 
Catherine, scarcely knowing what she did, placed 
the left arm, already stiffening in death, around 
her young neck. Thus passed a few dreadful mo- 
ments. Suddenly the door was thrown open, and 
the old woman crying : “ Mathes ! Mathes ! He 

throttles me !” fell back, dead, on her pillow. 

The neighbor and her husband came just in time 
to close the eyes of the deceased, but it was cur- 
rently reported in the village that they were per- 
mitted to see Mathes carry away Frau Klaass just 
as she had predicted three weeks before. 

In a few hours the cottage was thronged with 
visitors. vSome wanted to see if Frau Klaass looked 
different from other dead people, and others wanted 
to hear what the mayor would say about Catherine’s 
jewels. Many confidently believed that other treas- 
ures than these were hid in the cottage and, 
disregarding the girl’s solemn assertion that the 
grandmother had, with her dying hands, given her 


The Mask of Beauty. 


93 


these — the only legacy of her mother — proceeded 
to search every nook and cranny of the house. 
Some went so far as to look up the chimney and 
remove the hearthstones, and, possibly, would have 
searched the bed where the corpse lay, but for the 
arrival of the mayor. This officer was very much 
provoked by their lawless conduct and indignantly 
refused to take the ornaments from Catherine. 

To vent the natural spleen which this treatment 
of their action evoked, the villagers turned upon 
the poor girl and reported that she had stolen the 
jewels from the dying woman. And to confirm 
this idea, Catherine appeared behind Frau Klaass’s 
bier adorned with the fateful treasures. 

Then everybody knew that she was made out of 
the same material as her grandmother, and nobody 
could expect proper conduct from people of low 
Polish blood ! 

But, beneath all this, there was universal relief, 
both from the death of Frau Klaass and the re- 
moval of Catherine from the village. 



CHAPTER IX. 

To Catherine Carvallos, who had never been 
farther from her home than the woods, the two 
miles’ journey to Hela seemed unending. It was 
about daybreak of an autumn day when she, in com- 
pany with the mayor and two other men who had 
business in town, set out for Hela. None of her 
companions troubled themselves to speak to her 
during the walk, nor to apprise her, when they 
sighted a settlement, that she was approaching her 
future home. But she was too full of surprise and 
admiration to miss the attention. The seventy or 
eighty small buildings which lined the street on 
either side impressed her ignorant mind as almost as 
beautiful as the wonderful city of the sea. The 
bell-tower in the middle of the street, the ancient 
church with its history, the glancing white light- 
house, were all objects to efface from memory weari- 
ness from the long walk, and even the death of her 
grandmother. Presently the mayor paused before 
a house and said : 

“ You go here.” 

Catherine turned with interest toward her future 
home. The building was one-storied like the rest, 
but had three windows on each side of the door, 
and green wooden benches beneath them. The 
[ 94 ] 


^5 


The Mask of Beauty. 


exterior was weather-boarded and painted a grayish 
color, which contrasted well with the white shutters 
of the windows. Over the door was a large sign- 
board, on which was painted in large letters the 
name“ Deik,” and the door itself bore a brass knocker 
which shone brightly in the sun. To the unsophis- 
ticated girl the dwelling seemed a palace. 

On the bench at the right of the door sat the 
owner of the shop — Frau Deik. Although nearly 
sixty years old, no one would have taken her for it 
with her well-preserved color, teeth and hair. In 
spite of her being rich — owner of a shop and garden 
and a thousand thalers laid away — she wore the 
usual costume of narrow skirt and jerkin of coarse, 
printed linen. But so neatly did it fit, and so nicely 
was it laundered, that her figure was well set off 
thereby. Above all she had a large black bomba- 
zine apron tied around her waist. In the belt of 
this was stuck a bunch of keys. These belonged to 
the shop and household, and ever since her hus- 
band’s death she carried them on her person. 

Her whole appearance indicated neatness and 
order. She was also a prudent person, and not 
eager for chatter, as in her business she had learned 
it was better to give the last than the first word. So 
she allowed the mayor to bid her good-day before 
she cast upon him a kindly glance from under her 
white cap-ruffles and asked : 

“ Where from, and whither are you going?” 

“ From home, of course, Frau Deik,” said he, 
surprised, “ and I bring Catherine to you.” 

“Well, sit down and rest,” was the unmoved 


96 


The Mask of Beauty. 


reply. Then she watched the parting between the 
mayor and his friends, and ignored the girl’s pres- 
ence. But when they were alone she gave Catherine 
a searching glance from head to foot, and dryly 
said : 

“ This is the girl ! At the same age her mother 
was better-looking. Pray, where did she get her 
big earrings ?” 

The mayor hastened to relate their history, and 
Frau Deik listened quietly. Meantime, Catherine 
stood by the bench, irresolute and embarrassed, 
and heard herself discussed. But when her guar- 
dian related how her grandmother was superstitious 
and foretold her death, and how Frau Deik was 
doing a good deed to take the orphan whom no one 
in Heisternest would have, the woman turned 
kindly toward her and said : 

“You have heard all, Catherine. Here you shall 
stay, where there are no ghosts nor Spanish 
Knights.* Now go inside and rest.” With this 
she took out the large key and opened the house- 
door. “ When I need you, I will call.” 

Catherine willingly obeyed, but she could not 
rest. On the left of the door stood the shop coun- 
ter, and behind it many shelves, laden with cotton 
cloth and linen and colored knitting-yarn. Besides, 
there were drawers of groceries and other provi- 
sions, the names of whose contents were neatly 
labeled thereon, flasks of brandy and glasses of yel- 
low liquors arranged before the windows, barrels 

*A name in Hela for rope-dancers and circus-riders. 


The Mask of Bea^iiy, 


97 


and tubs and casks under the counter — in a word, 
enough to interest her for hours. 

Although tired and sleepy, her mind was also 
busy with such queries as, “ What will she order? 
What will Ido? What will she do to me ?” 

Instinctively fearing that some one might rob her 
of her precious jewels, she took them off, unfas- 
tened her small bundle of clothing, drew out the 
little bag, placed them in it and hung it round her 
neck just as her grandmother had done. When 
her neckerchief was readjusted, she folded her 
hands over the bundle in her lap, leaned her head 
on the counter and fell asleep. 

Not more than half an hour had thus elapsed, 
when a loud, sharp series of sounds awakened her. 
Raising her startled glance, she realized that the 
clock was striking twelve and Frau Deik approach- 
ing her. 

“Come to dinner,” she said, and noticing the ab- 
sence of the conspicuous ornaments as the girl rose, 
added : “ Where are your earrings ?” 

“ In a bag round my neck,” answered Catherine. 

To this Frau Deik made no reply, but led the way 
into the adjoining room. 

At the dinner-table sat a young man— -the nephew 
of Frau Deik— whom she had adopted because she 
had no children. When he saw Catherine he 
laughed rudely, and exclaimed : 

“ God preserve us ! Why she looks exactly like 
old Hirschel’s Chaie !” 

Frau Deik did not reprove this impoliteness, and 
Catherine had to bear it. But try as she would, she 


98 The Mask of Beauty, 


could not eat the good, nourishing food — the best 
she had ever seen. At that moment she longed for 
her dry bread in the lonely woods. It was bad 
enough to have to eat before a strange man, but 
that he should call her like the daughter of the old 
peddling Jew, who was the scorn and contempt of 
every one on the peninsula, took away all appetite 
and choked her with emotion. How gladly would 
she have pushed away her plate and left the room ! 
But fear of her mistress detained her, and she 
gradually managed to eat a little. The dignified 
commanding manners of Frau Deik had gained her 
immediate respect and obedience. 

During the meal the young man informed his 
aunt that, as a breeze had sprung up, he, with 
others, would sail over to Dantzig, and he would 
attend to any business she might have. 

Then they discussed shopkeepers and streets and 
the public-houses of Dantzig as things well-known, 
but Catherine had never before heard of so many 
strange names. 

When the dinner was finished, the nephew drew 
out a large silver watch and said abruptly : 

“ It is time that I was going. Girl, hand my coat 
off the nail behind the door !” 

Catherine tried, but could not reach the desired 
object. Her failure exasperated the man and, as he 
rose to procure it himself, he cried angrily : 

“ The wench is too little for use !” 

Moved by scorn and fright, Catherine, for the 
first time, cast a glance toward him. A well- 
developed figure, blue eyes and curly flaxen hair 


The Mask of Beauty. 


99 


made him a handvSome man in his own as well as 
others’ estimation. He was dressed well. His 
linen was dazzlingly white, his trousers of fine blue 
cloth and his coat adorned with large buttons. 
Frau Deik, even, was proud of his good appearance, 
though she sought diligently to conceal the fact. 

While he was preparing for the voyage, and his 
aunt was counting the money required for the pur- 
chases, poor Catherine stood by and looked on. 
Suddenly he turned upon her and asked : 

“ What are you waiting for?” 

I don’t know what to do !” returned Catherine, 
with resentment in her glance. 

“ Well, you sha’ n’t stand there staring at me!” 
was the insulting retort. 

Here Frau Deik interfered by telling the girl to 
remove the dishes to the kitchen and wash them 
nicely. 

Gratefully, Catherine obeyed. It was indescrib- 
able relief to get away from Karl Deik, in whose 
presence every moment of time was marked by 
insult and unkindness. 

When night came and the lamp was lit, Frau 
Deik called the girl to her side. She was sitting 
by a table, on which lay a Bible and a day-book. 
She opened the Bible and told her to read. The 
parts selected were the parables of the ten virgins 
and of the entrusted pounds. After she had read 
them carefully through, the old woman took the 
Bible out of her hand, placed a mark between the 
leaves, laid it down, and pointing to an entry on 
the left of the day-book, said : 


lOO 


The Mask of Beauty, 


“What 's that ?” 

Catherine had to look closely to decipher the bad 
writing, but answered : 

“ Herr Kleinstiiber — one gulden^ 

Then Frau Deik handed her a piece of paper and 
told her to copy the item from the book. When 
finished she took the sheet, scrutinized it long, com- 
pared it with the original and said : 

“ That’s well done, and I will keep you. But if 
you are useful in the house, you must not be high- 
minded. And you must not wear around here ear- 
rings and chains, for you are almost as black as 
night, and the children will ridicule you ! Only be 
industrious and obedient, and you will do well. 
After new year my nephew Karl is going to Berlin 
to enlist in the guards for three years. Then I 
will need some one to read and write for me, as my 
eyes are no longer good. You can do both for me, 
and if you are faithful I will treat you as well as 
your mother before you. But mind, don’t let me 
hear of foolish stories about ghosts. Be thankful 
that you have a good roof over your head, good 
clothes for your body, good food for your stomach. 
Very soon I will send you to the pastor for religious 
instruction, so read me that chapter of the Bible 
once more.” 

Again she handed her the Bible and listened with 
deepest interest to the same parables. When this 
verse was reached, “ Well done, thou good and faith- 
ful servant ! Thou hast been faithful over a few 
things. I will make thee ruler over many. Enter, 
thou, into the joys of thy Lord !” the old woman 


The Mask of Beauty. 


lOI 


must have it read again and again. At last she 
took the book from Catherine’s hand and said 
kindly : 

“ You will become a true, worthy woman, my 
child. Now go to bed.” 

Catherine rose and turned to leave the room ; but 
her mistress directed her to a small bed near her 
own, which she had prepared for her, and long be- 
fore Frau Deik lay down, the weary girl was peace- 
fully sleeping. 




CHAPTER X. 

Three months later than this time, so sensibly 
had Catherine’s appearance changed that one would 
scarcely have recognized her as the same person. 

She had become not only the prettiest girl in 
Hela, but hardly could a prettier one be found in 
the country. She was tall and well developed, her 
dark, large eyes possessed a sweet expression, her 
full, red lips and pretty teeth indicated robust 
health, and her rich, wavy hair was scarcely con- 
cealed by the kerchief which, according to the 
fashion for servants, she wore over the little white 
cap denominated Hiille. 

But still more thorough was the change in her 
feelings and ideas. 

The sudden change from the superstitious igno- 
rance of her grandmother to the wisdom and virtue 
of a kind mistress, from the idle, dreamy loneliness i 
to prescribed, regular work and proper intercourse 
with other people had, first, produced a kind of i 
anxious fear in the girl’s mind. At one blow all of 

[ 102 ] ' 


The Mask of Beauty, 


t03 


her former thoughts were scorned and displaced. 
Frau Klaass had always told her that she was 
pretty and distinguished, while Frau Deik declared 
that her ugliness would not hurt her if she did her 
duty, and thereby might she avoid becoming a 
beggar. Within the small^ smoke-blackened cot- 
tage she had heard of beautiful things in distant 
lands, but here, in the fine house, she was told of 
this and that labor which she must perform at dif- 
ferent hours of each day, so that night always found 
her worn out and ready to sleep. In the village, 
young and old disliked and annoyed her ; in the 
town, no one troubled her, for she gave no one 
cause for ill-will. 

And thus the first weeks were filled with alter- 
nate hopes and disappointments, chagrin and satis- 
faction, fancies and realities. But when the new 
year came and Karl went to Berlin, as his aunt had 
informed her that he would, Catherine breathed 
more freely, and entered with more zest upon her 
duties. Very soon she became so used to this life 
that she almost forgot that she had ever lived dif- 
ferently, and the days succeeded each other with a 
peaceful monotony which rendered them undistin- 
guishable, one from another. 

She had little to do with the cultivation of the 
garden, for Frau Deik employed a neighbor to at- 
tend it. But she must always be near her mistress 
in the house or shop, to serve customers, to write 
credits (Frau Deik could not write, though she did 
not tell it) or to do anything necessary. While the 
old woman was not a scribe, she was an excellent 


104 


The Mask of Beauty. 


judge of human nature, and from the countenances 
and talk of customers learned as much of their 
inner lives as she knew of her own. And she was 
so good and kind a person that the pastor often 
sent the needy to her for advice or assistance. The 
pastor of the church was a young man lately come 
to Hela, and did not fail to observe Frau Deik’s 
good qualities. He commended her for her charity 
in taking the orphan from such an atmosphere of 
superstition and ignorance, and encouraged her to 
bring her under his religious instruction and hope 
for the speedy eradication of her wrong ideas. 

It was a sin for a so-called Protestant community 
in the nineteenth century to commit the injUvStice 
exhibited toward the child’s grandmother by the 
inhabitants of Dantzig Heisternest. 

But it was Frau Deik’s privilege to show them 
that she could, by proper religious and secular in- 
fluences, destroy the unhappy belief of the child in 
witchcraft and ghosts and make her a sensible, 
good woman. 

This advice was in beautiful consonance with the 
good woman’s views. It pleased her greatly to 
have confidences with the new pastor — the most 
learned man that had ever occupied the position 
and with distinguished relations in Dantzig. She 
knew that he had held her up as model to the other 
Helans for taking the poor orphan, whom nobody 
else would have, and she could not resist the 
temptation of referring to the fact with pride. 
But, at the bottom of her heart, Frau Deik felt 
that in Catherine she had found a treasure. No 


The Mask of Beauty. 105 


sooner had the girl recovered from her natural fear 
of the new surroundings, than wshe displayed the 
same aptness and skill of her mother, and surpassed 
her in the ability to read and write for her mistress, 
who, laying her own failure on poor eyesight, took 
this extra service calmly, because of or rather as re- 
ward for her striking condescension to the unfortu- 
nate one. 

The pastor being a really godly man, on whose 
heart the people’s souls’ interest weighed, soon 
comprehended poor Catherine’s case, and took 
especial interest in instructing her. Realizing that 
a person’s nature is unchangeable, and the first im- 
pressions in life most lasting and difficult to efface, 
he yet believed that the errors of such an one may, 
by right means, be turned to good. To this end, 
he labored with Catherine. He did not tell her to 
renounce the thought that her father and mother 
were great people, but he explained that her father 
was a brave, good soldier, and her mother an honor- 
able, worthy hiirgerfrau in Dantzig, and of them she 
should be proud. He advised her not to dwell on 
the imaginations of her sick grandmother, but to 
consider how she could nobly do her work. She had 
no right to think herself better than others unless 
her actions were better, and if ever any one taunted 
her with the foolish stories of her grandmother, she 
should answer them by exhibiting a worthy de- 
meanor. He was sorry to tell her that she could 
never get help from her father’s relations nor, in- 
deed, from anybody else, but if ever she left Frau 
Deik, she could easily find on the mainland a posi- 


io6 


The Mask of Beauty. 


tion as honorable maid, wherein she would experi- 
ence more contentment than being a dependent 
upon anybody. 

Such wise and judicious teachings will affect 
young people of greatest obstinacy and willfulness, 
and the5^soon showed their impress upon Catherine. 
The more she thought about the pastor’s words, the 
more plainly she saw theii truth, and she promised 
herself to try to follow his reasonable advice. And, 
at the age of fifteen, when she came with all the 
other Lutheran children to confirmation, she felt 
strengthened to vow, with the help of God, to live 
a life which would stand the criticism of the little 
world in which her lot was cast. 

This event occurred one year after Catherine 
came to Hela, and in that time her appearance was 
much altered. Kind Frau Deik had given her a 
nice costume for the occasion, and when she saw 
how well it became her shapely figure her pleasure 
was undisguised. As she watched the distinguished 
form of the orphan move among the Helans to the 
altar, her thoughts flew back to the child’s mother, 
who had partaken of first communion in the same 
spot, and there pledged her troth to the pilot. A 
new tenderness came into her heart for the poor 
waif whom, as the pastor said. Providence had res- 
cued from superstitious ignorance and committed 
to her charge for proper guidance, and for whose 
soul she must give an account at the judgment bar. 
When such solemn responsibility was laid upon 
her, Frau Deik did not weep, like more tender- 
hearted women, but silently resolved to fulfill her 


The Mask of Beauty. 


107 


duty in the case. But beside the value of Cather- 
ine’s services before mentioned, there was another 
reason why this duty was not onerous, which might 
be sinful, and, therefore, better not mentioned. 
Like many old women who have in youth been at- 
tractive, she took continual delight in Catherine’s 
beauty. She loved to see her, on rising from bed, 
comb her long black hair with strong, shapely 
hands, bathe her countenance, reddened by fresh 
water and health, or fasten on her slender body the 
jerkin, shrunk from many washings. But the pride 
of Frau Deik was complete when, on confirmation 
day, her womanly form rose decidedly above all 
companions of her own age. 

No sooner was the solemn rite of the Lutheran 
creed finished than Catherine returned to her bene- 
factress and kisvsed her hands. Frau Deik was 
kindly replying, “ Do your du — ” when she met in 
the aisle the mayor, who interrupted her with : 

Good-day !” 

‘‘ How are you ?” was the hearty response from 
the old woman, in recognition of his former relation 
to Catherine. 

“ Well, my wife and I brought Christian to be 
confirmed to-day. And here they are.” 

Sure enough, at the church-door stood the mother 
and son, and Frau Dejk, after shaking hands with 
them, said : 

“ You must all come home with me and take a 
lunch. I know you must need something to fit you 
for the long walk home, and besides, I want you to 
see how Catherine is fixed.” 


io8 


The Mask of Beauty. 


Neither the mayor nor his wife had inclination to 
decline so flattering an invitation, and the little 
company walked slowly toward the shop, Catherine 
and Christian taking the lead. The boy was full of 
importance. He had enlisted on a vessel now lying 
in Dantzig harbor and about to sail, and in one 
week’s time would leave his native land perhaps 
forever. In consideration of this connection, he 
to-day wore the round sailor’s hat adorned with two 
fluttering streamers. His trousers and jacket of 
nice blue cloth were new, and the latter glistened 
with many bright buttons. Leather boots and 
gloves, a black cravat, yellow silk pocket-handker- 
chief and a nosegay made striking additions to his 
toilet. But to crown all, he wore a large silver 
watch, a valuable heirloom which his mother had 
just consigned to him as parting gift. 

During the long journey from the village Chris- 
tian had been thinking what an impression his cos- 
tume would make in the town. 

But when he saw Catherine enter the church, sit 
behind him and never once turn her eyes that way, 
he was too vexed to hear much of the sermon. 

He made many plans by which he might attract 
her attention after dismissal, and was, therefore, 
surprised and confused when Frau Deik smoothed 
all obstacles by inviting them to lunch. 

Every week during the year the boy had seen 
and conversed with the girl freely, but now a spell 
seemed to be put upon his tongue. That he should 
be walking by her side — he in his Sunday dress, 
she in hers — he with his nosegay, she with her 


The Mask of Beauty. 


109 


bunch of geraniums and daisies — she with her 
mother’s worn hymn-book, he with a similar one — 
bereft him of vSpeech. 

The sun shone so warm, the pastor’s garden by 
the sea was so green, the waves were so blue, and 
everything was so beautiful and attractive that he 
suddenly felt that he could not tear himself from 
home. And what if he never should see the island, 
his parents or Catherine again ? All pride and good 
spirits deserted him. Instead of these came 
thoughts of shipwrecks, and especially of the Dutch 
vessel which, two years before, ran aground in the 
night and all the crew were lost in sight of land. 
He thought how, if his vessel went down that way, 
next morning some one would find the sailor hat 
which he now wore so proudly. Then he took off 
the hat, examined it well and concluded the finder 
would be fortunate. 

It was his first realization of the truth and terror 
of death, and burdened his heart with mighty 
sorrow. 

So the house of Frau Deik was reached without 
the interchange of words between the two over- 
grown children. The shop was closed in honor 
of the holy day. 

When the hostess opened the door for her guests, 
everything was spotlessly clean. The sand which 
Catherine had strewn on the floor was untrodden, 
the pine boughs on the tables were refreshingly 
green, the brass vessels shone like gold, and the 
curtain that hung before the glass of the door con- 
necting the shop with the room beyond as white 


I lO 


The Mask of Beauty, 


as the driven snow. As often as they had been 
in the shop, not one of the guests had ever en- 
tered this back room, and were delighted to find it 
vSo elegant. The walls were painted green, and the 
furniture consisted (besides a sofa, chairs and cup- 
board) of a folding dining-table, covered with a 
red-flowered linen cloth. The mayor’s wife was 
overcome with surprise and admiration, but pru- 
dently and modestly sat by her husband near the 
door, while Christian awkwardly stood on the 
threshold. But Frau Deik was too busy to notice 
the impression made by her household effects. 
With one of the keys belonging to the large bunch, 
she opened the cupboard, brought out her English 
cups, adorned with red trees and yellow birds, and 
directed Catherine to make the coffee, while she 
unwrapped her silver spoons and cut the white 
bread. During these actions, her tongue was not 
idle : 

“ Yes, mayor, I am glad that you wrote the letter 
for Mrs. Klaass,” she went on, “ as, by the help of 
God, I trust to make Catherine a good woman. I 
try to treat her kindly, and have already given her 
new underclothing and two dresses, one for every 
day and the other for Sunday. I only needed to 
talk reasonably with the girl to make her give up 
her foolish notions, and I have nothing against her 
now. I know what the pastor says is true, that if 
you halloo in the woods you’ll get answered. A 
just mistress makes a good servant always. And,” 
this she said significantly, “my belief is that if the 
girl and her grandmother had been treated right by 


The Mask of Beauty. 


1 1 1 


some people, there would not have been so much 
cause to complain of them.” 

The guests listened politely to this long speech, 
but each had a private opinion on the subject. But 
the mayor, realizing that he should respond, said : 

All that may well be, Frau Deik. I have always 
been provoked by this superstition in the village, 
and tried to suppress it. I never failed to declare 
that Frau Klaass was a poor old woman, unworthy 
of noticing, but — you have not seen the end yet 
with Catherine, and there is — bad blood in her !” 

Frau Deik shook her head decisively, and re- 
plied 

“ There is nothing in blood which honorable work 
will not take out. If Catherine so judges, other 
people should believe it !” 

Now the mayor was as loath to argue with Frau 
Deik as the pastor in his pulpit, for both of them 
could quickly conquer him. Besides, he was de- 
lighted to hear that Catherine was satisfactory to 
so good a mistress. But his wife, who had been 
longing for an opportunity to show her loquacious 
powers, turned her chair around and said : 

“ I know that Frau Klaass was not so bad as she 
was represented. The trouble began when the 
officer’s Catherine brought home the earrings and 
necklace, which were, doubtless, stolen goods. Let 
them be removed and all would be different, I al- 
ways said so, and I see that Frau Deik agrees with 
me, because she has taken them from the girl !” 

“ Not at all ! Not at all !” replied that person in- 
dignantly. “You are entirely mistaken ! Catherine 


I 12 


The Mask of Beauty. 


took them off of her own free will, before she 
had been here an hour. But now I intend her to 
wear — ” 

Just here the door opened and the girl entered, 
bearing the black-painted coffee-tray, on which 
were placed the coffee-pot and cream pitcher. All 
traces of the wild, undisciplined creature were 
gone, and she was a perfect model of an accom- 
plished servant. After depositing her burden, she 
turned to leave the room, but Frau Deik detained 
her with a gesture. Very cordially did the hostess 
call the mayor and his wife to the table, but took 
care not to seat them on the sofa by herself. When 
they had eaten with zest of the tempting meal, she 
called Christian and, afterward, Catherine to re- 
fresh themselves. But Christian had no relish for 
the food. A great lump seemed to obstruct his 
throat. Ever and anon loomed up visions of a 
future shipwreck and his own death, and, as he 
looked at Catherine, he wanted to ask what she 
would do if his hat was picked up on the shore like 
the poor sailor’s he had once seen. Suddenly a 
sharp noise was heard, which startled him from his 
sad reverie. It was the knocker of the shop-door, 
which was purposely made loud so as to be heard 
all over the house. Frau Deik said : “ Catherine !” 
and, immediately, the girl left the room to wait on 
the customer. It was almost incredible to the boy 
that he saw the same person whom he had known 
in Heisternest. He longed for her to reenter the 
room. He determined to tell her about old Pin or, 
but, when she did return, all self-possession forsook 


The Mask of Beauty. 


113 


him, for Frau Deik fastened her searching eyes on 
him, and said sharply : 

Do you want anything ? I think your parents 
should scold you for not speaking a word to any- 
body, such a big fellow as you are !” But even this 
reproof only evoked a shake of the head. 

As the repast was now finished, the hostess rose 
from the table, followed by the mayor and wife. 
As it was then growing late, the man took his hat, 
the woman fastened her large kerchief over her 
head and prepared to say good-by. 

But on the threshold, Frau Deik called them back, 
placed Catherine before them and said : 

You think that Catherine has improved because 
of the removal of her jewels. I know that there is 
no possible influence they can have, and to prove it 
to everybody, I shall make her, from this day, wear 
them before all the world !” 

A gleam of indescribable joy flew over the girl’s 
face. She reddened from her chin to the roots of 
her hair, looked inquiringly at her mistress and laid 
her hand upon the little bag. 

“Take them out and put them on,” said Frau 
Deik, triumphantly. 

Catherine obeyed her in trembling haste. Con- 
flicting emotions of embarrassment, pride and joy 
ruled her breast. When she had adjusted them in 
their places she drew herself up proudly, though 
she dared not lift her eyes to the spectators. The 
mistress regarded her with favor and pleasure. 

“ Wear them,” she repeated, “ because you have 
done your duty. But if you ever fail in it so you 


14 


The Mask of Beauty. 


must give them up ! Now you may clear the 
table.” 

When Catherine left the room, Christian began 
to cry most distressingly, and would not answer 
why he was moved. It was not until his mother 
scolded, his father threatened and Frau Deik 
shamed him that he blurted out : 

“ I am going to get drowned ! And — she can 
wear the big earrings always.” 

At first the listeners did not comprehend his 
meaning, but his mother presently said, looking 
hard at Frau Deik : 

“ I always said something was wrong about her, 
but nobody thinks country people know anything. 
Believe me, as wise as you think yourself you will 
find out we did not live with her fourteen years for 
nothing. As to my boy, she has been bringing 
trouble on him ever since she was born.” 

Meanwhile the mother pulled his yellow hand- 
kerchief out of the breast-pocket of his coat, and pro- 
ceeded to wipe away the youth’s tears as if he were a 
baby. Catherine did not return, the guests did not 
ask after her, and Frau Deik was sorry that she had 
been so gracious. After the door closed behind their 
retreating forms, the good woman made a vow to 
carry out her wish with the girl. And what pleas- 
ure it would give her to show these prejudiced 
people that they had no more cause for speaking ill 
of her than of a sparrow on the roof. 



CHAPTER XL 

A few days later, when Frau Deik went to pay 
the confirmation fee for the poor orphan, which it 
was her pleasure to give, she could not resist telling 
the pastor of her interview with the mayor’s family. 
The excellent man listened attentively to her rep- 
resentation, and when his wife entered repeated it 
to her. 

“ You see,” he added, “good sense and example 
can alone avail against such things, and, wife, you 
and I must help this good Frau Deik in her work. 
I think you acted discreetly, madam, in giving the 
girl, her treasures to wear, for thereby they will lose 
their mystery for herself and others. And we can 
turn them to good account by telling her they are 
types of the adornment of the soul, for which she 
must strive. We will all watch over the young 
creature, and if you see anything displeasing, Frau 
Deik, let us know it, so that we may try to remedy 
the matter. The care of this soul is a precious 
privilege to us all.” 

Frau Deik went home from this confidential in- 
terview well pleased with everybody, and especially 
with the cause of the consultation. She had never 
had a daughter of her own, and the gratitude and 

[115] 


The Mask of Bea^ity. 


1 16 


attractions of the orphan won more and more upon 
her heart. She sometimes felt tempted to adopt 
the girl, and treated her less like a servant. What- 
ever work she could, she spared her. 

Catherine was by this time most accomplished in 
her vocation. Besides other things, she had 
learned to be a fine seamstress, and surpassed her 
teacher in beautiful work. Active in serving in 
the shop, kindly in intercourse with others, ready 
to do a neighbor a service, the pretty Catherine be- 
came as the right hand of her mistress, and brought 
many a customer who would, without her, never or 
seldom have entered the shop. 

After awhile certain persons were frequently 
there without business, and two men were never 
wanting. One was Wilhelm, the son of the Bur ger- 
meister Hoffman, and the other Gotthard, the light- 
house-keeper’s son. Both of them had served terms 
as soldiers, and both were old enough to marry. 

Wilhelm, as son of the most important Helan, 
had a share in the great net, and everybody thought 
he would inherit one of the houses opposite Frau 
Deik’s, belonging to his father. This house was at 
present used as store-house for the government 
commissary, but it had a pretty garden attached, 
and many a Burger girl, in passing by it, would look 
in the window and think what a desirable residence 
it would make. 

Gotthard, on the contrary, had no property, for 
the Meinarts were not Helan Burgers, The father 
had been appointed to the care of the lighthouse 
when the old beacon was removed in favor of the 


The Mask of Beauty. 1 1 7 


new tower, and for years it had been thought in 
the town that Gotthard would succeed his father in 
office. 

Catherine would have been both blind and deaf 
if she had failed to see why the young men fre- 
quented the shop. 

But, meantime, Frau Deik was using the same 
senses and constantly warning the girl to think 
nothing of their favor. 

“What matters it,” she would say, “if both of 
them like you, you can never marry either. No 
Burger s son can marry a woman who is not his 
equal. Besides, even if Wilhelm wotdd do it, 
neither his father nor I would allow such a thing. 
And how can Gotthard, who is a stranger and has 
nothing, think of marrying ? He ought to try to 
get a woman who will bring him something. Re- 
member that you are a servant, too. Besides, peo- 
ple would quickly speak against your character, and 
when that is gone all is lost to you.” 

Catherine took these words to heart, and behaved 
most discreetly. But her shyness only increased 
the lovers’ zeal. If, at first, they had no settled 
purpose in the matter, the girl’s reserve inflamed 
their passion and urged them on. 

After a little, Wilhelm became so infatuated with 
her that he .forgot his father’s wishes and all other 
obstacles and determined to marry her. He never 
thought that the girl would need other inducement 
to say yes than to look across the street and see 
her future home. And Gotthard, in a milder way, 
was no less bent on making her his wife. Wilhelm, 


ii8 


The Mask of Beatity, 


observing the consideration shown his beloved by 
Frau Deik, counted on a good dowry from her, 
although Catherine was neither relative nor Burger 
girl. 

Meantime, Gotthard was consoling himself with 
the sensible thought that the Biirgermeister—?^- 
though a fisherman like the rest — would never permit 
his son to marry Frau Deik’s servant ! Thus fed 
with deceitful hopes, the lovers were sure of success, 
and Frau Deik, nourished with common sense, felt 
equally certain of Catherine’s rejection of both. 

And thus the time flew pleasantly for the girl, 
whose good conduct was the constant pride of her 
kind mistress. And thus months changed into years, 
until, one beautiful spring morning, the post brought 
Frau Deik a large letter. There was a heavy 
postage to pay, which the old woman gave readily, 
because the missive was from her nephew Karl, 
in 'Berlin. As she had not heard a word from him 
for a long time, she called Catherine at once to 
read the letter to her, which ran thus : 

Dear Aunt : 

“ I now write to you because, in August next, my time 
runs out. I have passed three years pleasantly enough. I have 
seen the great city, and enjoyed civilities from both soldiers and 
private citizens. For these reasons I would like to stay here, 
especially as it is honorable to wear the king’s uniform ; but, as I 
think I will have to stay so long as that I may find you gone 
when I come back, I have handed in my resignation, and will 
soon be discharged. So, dear aunt, if you will send me some 
travelling money, I will soon be with you again. 

“ Your affectionate nephew, 

‘‘ Karl Deik. 

‘‘Grenadier in the Imperial Infantry at Berlin.?’ 


The Mask of Beauty. 1 19 


Frau Deik was never hasty to express her feel- 
ings. She, silently, took the letter from the girl’s 
hands, and spread it out before her on the table. 
But Catherine thought her mistress was displeased 
with the tone of the letter, and, indeed, she was. 

Three years work many changes, and in that 
time Frau Deik felt a decided coolness in her affec- 
tion for Karl. She had grown to believe from not 
hearing from him that he would remain in the 
army, and she had long ceased to miss him in the 
household. The best of mortals are soon, if not 
forgotten in absence, provided with proper substi- 
tutes. But Karl had never been a very efficient 
help or pleasant companion. As heir-apparent to 
his uncle, he was obliged- to assist in the fish-haul, 
but he never did an extra vStroke of work, and sat 
much of his time in the shop, smoking a pipe and 
talking with the neighbors. 

The little writing he had done for his aunt was 
better and more quickly done by Catherine, and she 
was far more trustworthy with cash. So for every 
reason the old woman was displeased at the thought 
of her nephew’s return. 

So far she had carried out her purpose of keep- 
ing the orphan and leading her to noble woman- 
hood. But it would not be desirable to have a man 
like Karl — now twenty-four years old — in the house, 
who, like most men of dictatorial nature, would cer- 
tainly interfere with the present management of the 
girl. And above all, the healthy woman was of- 
fended at her nephew’s cheerful reference to her 
death. 


I 20 


The Mask of Beauty, 


That evening, when the coffee was boiling, and 
Frau Deik was cutting slices of bread for herself 
and Catherine, she regarded the loaf as if she had 
never seen it before, and said : “ One more to feed !” 
when she replaced it in the cupboard. And just 
before going to sleep she asked Catherine how long 
it would be before August. 

Quickly passed the intervening two months ere 
the expected person arrived. Next day every one 
in the town knew of KarFs return, and two young 
men were not glad to see him. 

By this time it was universally remarked that 
Wilhelm spent most of his time in the shop, where 
he could see the beautiful Catherine. Frau Deik 
was more keenly impressed with this disagreeable 
fact than anybody else, but she could not forbid the 
Biirgermeister s son to enter a public place, and con- 
tented herself with seeing to the discreetness of 
Catherine’s conduct toward him. Meantime, the 
Burgermeister was equally outraged with his son’s 
conduct, but, like many another cowardly nature, 
vented his spleen upon the wrong person, the weak, 
defenseless, innocent girl. 

He watched i r his opportunity. One bright 
Sunday morning in June he saw from his window 
that Frau Deik, in her best dress, was gone to 
church without Catherine, and telling his wife and 
son to follow her, as it was late, and feeling then 
that he was safe from interruption, he crossed the 
street and pulled the knocker vigorously. Cather- 
ine came out of the kitchen to answer the summons, 
and would have felt no surprise at seeing the Burger- 


The Mask of Beauty, 


I 2 I 


me is ter except that he usually attended church. 
But naturally supposing he wished to purchase to- 
bacco or snuff, she said with politeness : 

“ What do you wish ?” 

“ I want nothing but to speak to you !” was the 
curt reply, as he turned to enter the back room. 

Catherine, astonished beyond measure, ejac- 
ulated : 

“ My mistress is at church.” 

“ I know it, and that ’s why I came,” said the 
Biir germeister shortly. 

With these words, he walked into the room and 
sat down on a chair by the sofa. 

The girl followed him, with a rising fear. But, 
because her conscience was so clear, she repressed 
the unworthy feeling and, laying aside her kitchen 
apron, stood respectfully by the door. Presently 
she asked, as he did not speak : 

“ Herr Hoffmann, what do you want with me?” 

The Burgermeister had counted much on the im- 
pression which his rank and importance would 
make on the orphan. She knew that the pastor of 
the church could not be chosen without his ap- 
proval nor be effective with his dislike. Only the 
government officials who occasionally came over 
from Dantzig were equal to him. His power over 
the people was lordly. Quick of action 'and re- 
vengeful of injury, all dreaded to come under his 
disfavor. Besides, a recently-acquired corpulence 
had rendered his person most imposing and magis- 
terial, and, in consequence thereof, he had ceased 
to go with the boats on the sea, while his profits 


12 ^ 


The Mask of Beauty, 


from the catch were unchanged. But he never 
failed to superintend the fish division, and, with 
his broad shoulders, thick, short legs and sharp 
gray eyes always caused peace and fair play to 
reign among the workers. His was a nature that 
brooked no opposition, and the quiet, firm question 
of Catherine vexed him greatly. So he settled 
himself on the chair, clasped his knees with his 
short, fat hands and regarded her sternly. To bet- 
ter master his wrath, he then drew out his snuff- 
box, took a pinch, and, as he slowly replaced the 
article in his pocket, said : 

“ What do I want ? I want you to keep quiet and 
answer all my questions. What is your name ?” 
Catherine could not divine why the man should 
ask such a well-known thing, and only looked at 
him in surprise. The Burgermeister s voice assumed 
a threatening tone, as he repeated : “ I ask you 

what is your name?” 

“ Catherine Carvallos,” said she, simply. 

Where did you come from ?” 

“ Why, Herr Hoffman, you know that very 
well !” cried the girl, with increasing astonish- 
ment. 

“ I ask you where did you come from ?” he re- 
peated emphatically. 

“ From Dantzig Heisternest.” 

“ Who was your mother?” 

“ Catherine Klaass, of Heisternest.” 

“ Who was your father?” 

“ The Spanish corporal, Herr Carvallos.” 

“ What 's your business ?” 


The Mask of Beauty. 


123 


Then he angrily slapped his knee, as if the direct 
answers of his victim annoyed him. 

Now there dawned upon Catherine’s mind a pre- 
monition of coming evil. Alarmed by the thought 
and doubtful what to do, she suddenly said : 

“ Bur germeister^ you know very well that Frau 
Klaass was my grandmother, and that she asked 
Frau Deik to take me as a servant !” 

“ Servant ! vServant ! The daughter of a Spanish 
deserter, the grandchild of an old witch, and you 
think you will marry the son of a Helah Burger- 
nieister !" came in tones of mingled contempt and 
anger from his lips. “ But don’t flatter yourself if 
the witch did give you power to attract the young 
fool, that / am going to suffer it !” 

“ Biirgermeister !" cried poor Catherine, with crim- 
son cheeks. “ I declare I never thought of such a 
' thing !” 

Thought or no thought, it is worse for them 
who are bewitched by you !” was the breathless 
reply. “And, mark my words, if it is true that 
Wilhelm is led off by you, I know how to punish, 
and I ’ll show you that no bad women are permitted 
in this town !” 

The crimson hue forsook the orphan’s cheek and 
gave place to a death-like pallor, and, in a voice 
choked with emotion, she gasped : 

“ I am a virtuous woman ! I have done no 
wrong !” 

“ A loose woman you are, whom it is a shame for 
Frau Deik to keep in her house !” cried the man, 
beside himself with rage. 


24 


The Mask of Beauty, 


Catherine’s lips moved with scorn as she, with 
difficulty, said : 

“ Say no word against my kind mistress ! She 
took me in compassion and gave me a home. What 
I have here done, I can show before God and men. 
I have not wanted your son to come here nor 
listened to his words, but neither she nor I could 
prevent his entering a public place. His visits 
have only been unpleasant, and I trust that you 
will keep him away in the future.” 

The Burgermeister could not fail to be impressed 
with the earnestness and truth of the girl, although 
he was surprised and disappointed in evoking them. 
Had she been humble, acknowledged her sin and 
begged forgiveness, he would have gone away satis- 
fied, but he could not bear to hear the whole blame 
in the matter put upon his son. And, as angry 
men like angry dogs snap at the nearest object to' 
them, he caught her last words, and said con- 
temptuously : 

“ Keep my son away ! But what of Gotthard 
Meinart? You will make nothing of him, I tell 
you. Don’t think the old man will keep his 
eyes shut ! No right-minded father would let his 
son marry a witch’s descendant. I am master here, 
and will warn Herr Meinart against you !” 

This threat worked a very different effect upon 
the girl from what he expected. Shame and scorn 
had passed, and a quiet, proud indifference marked 
her countenance, as she returned : 

“ Do what you choose about it !” 

In proportion to Catherine’s self-possession was 


The Mask of Beauty. 


125 


his indignant rage. He had no more charges to 
bring, and therefore must leave, but as he reached 
the threshold he cast a last angry glance behind 
him, repeating : 

“ I tell you I am the master here, and you shall 
feel my power.” 

Even to this the girl remained unmoved, and 
when the door was fastened resumed her apron and 
returned to the kitchen to prepare dinner. So long 
had the interview lasted that the fire was extinct, 
and Catherine hastened to make up for lost time by 
industrious work. 

When all was finished, she sat down on the bench 
and felt the overwhelming weight of her wrongs. 
Gladly would she have relieved her burdened heart 
with tears, but she could not. At first she deter- 
mined to reveal all the trouble to her kind mistress, 
but the recollection of Frau Deik s command to her 
never to refer to her grandmother and her super- 
stitions again, raised a doubt as to her duty in the 
matter. And to tell her the cruelty of the Biirger- 
meisters charge — the extremity of his injustice — 
was hard, indeed. 

After all, it might be better to kefep silence and 
await her enemy’s threatened action. For such 
sad musings the time drags slowly, and it was long 
before Frau Deik came home from church. When 
one has experienced great sorrow, the sight of a 
trusted friend gives great impulse to seek sympathy 
by confidence. So Catherine forgot her resolution 
to the contrary, and determined when Frau Deik 
asked the usual question, “ Was anybody here?” 


The Mask of Beauty. 


1 26 


that she would make full confession of the interview. 
But strange to say, the old woman did not make any 
inquiry, and the girl, both from the unpleasantness of 
the subject and from disinclination to put Frau Deik 
in a bad humor after church, kept silence. Of course 
the good woman observed that Catherine was low- 
spirited, and at midday, when she saw various girls 
from the town going into the neighboring woods, pro- 
posed to her to join them. As the proposition was not 
agreeable, the girl took her seat on the doorstep re- 
spectfully lower than Frau Deik on the green bench 
near by. It was a lovely day. The sun shone 
warm and bright, the fleecy clouds against the blue 
background resembled banks of feathery snow, and 
the sea breeze blew fresh and cool through the nar- 
row street. It was the best day of the season, and 
all who could walked out, while those who could 
not threw open doors and windows to let in the 
balmy air. Here and there women sauntered to the 
woods for grass and flowers, while men dotted the 
beach and watched the passing vessels. 

Only one house remained closed up, as if unin- 
habited. This was the residence of the Biirger- 
meister, just opposite Frau Deik’s shop. Not all 
the beauties of sea, earth and sky could enchain 
Catherine’s attention beside that ominously silent, 
closed mansion. 

Every slight noise on the street made her start 
with dread, lest it was the lordly master approach- 
ing once more. 

About four o’clock Frau Deik, observing the sin- 
gular silence of the opposite neighbors, asked : 


The Mask of Beauty. 


127 


“ Catherine, has Wilhelm been here to-day?” 

“ No, ma’am,” said she. 

Nor the Burgermeister either ?” 

The desired moment had come. The girl had 
opened her month to confess, when the door of 
Herr Hoffmann’s house opened and father and son 
crossed the street. Catherine felt a shiver run over her 
body, and dared not lift her eyes from her knitting. 

The son walked like a prisoner by the Burger- 
meister ^ who moved with more than ordinary strut 
toward Frau Deik. 

Catherine was so convinced that the man had 
come to accuse her to her mistress that her first 
impulse was to flee. But the natural desire to hear 
and compare this reproach with the former de- 
tained her. 

But her belief was unfounded. 

“ Good-day, neighbor,” said the visitor, pleas- 
antly. “ Why do you sit out here?” 

Now, Frau Deik had no patience with foolish 
questions, and being annoyed by this one, answered 
shortly : 

“ By your permission, because I feel like it.” 

On ordinary occasions the Burgermeister would 
have been satisfied to pass on after such a rebuff, 
but to-day he lingered, and returned : 

“ I don’t see why you work so hard. You labor 
as if for your daily bread and have no child to 
inherit your possessions. P^or Karl you have a 
plenty, and what ’s the use of more ?” 

If there was anything more displeasing to Frau 
Deik than nonsensical queries, it was to be re- 


128 


The Mask of Beauty. 


minded of her death and Karl’s inheritance. So 
she said, in an indignant tone : 

“ Where is it recorded that Karl Deik is my heir ?” 

“ Why, Frau Deik, you are a mortal like the 
rest of us, and can’t live forever,” continued the 
Biir germeister^ undaunted, and his voice was so 
good-humored that Catherine could scarcely realize 
how angry he had shown himself to her a few 
hours previously. 

“Live or die,” retorted the old woman, thor- 
oughly upset, “ I am mistress of my own property ! 
My husband gave me full power, and I will show you 
that no one need count on disposing of it for me !’' 

Catherine, who had not imagined such a turn 
to the conversation, looked up in surprise, and de- 
tected a knowing exchange of glances between 
father and son. The Burgermeister shrugged his 
shoulders, pulled up his trousers, adjusted his 
coat and said, with a forced smile, 

“ Surely, you are entirely right on the subject ! 
And if you sit out here, it is nobody’s business 
either, but you should not let Catherine do it !” 

“ I ?” cried the girl in affrighted surprise, as she 
instinctively rose and went into the house. 

“ Good-day, neighbor !” said the Burgermeister, 
and walked away with Wilhelm. 

The father’s mind was very much eased. He 
had accomplished the desired object — to find out 
whether Catherine had revealed his attack upon 
her, which Frau Deik would surely resent as breach 
of neighborly courtesy. But because she had spared 
the revelation, he decided that she was more guilty 



THE DOOR OPENED, AND THE GIRL ENTERED.— ,S’ee Page 112, 






The Mask of B easily, i 29 


than she acknowledged, and he vowed to punish 
her well. 

Ever since church-time, there had been a stormy 
scene in his house, for Wilhelm showed himself as 
stubborn to give up his suit of Catherine, as she 
had been ready to reject it. His mind was firmly 
set upon marrying the girl, and he defied his father’s 
authority. His threats were loud and solemn, that 
he would leave home and never return, if he were 
thwarted. But though the Burgermeister suspected 
that he meant to marry Catherine and emigrate to 
America, where any man could make a living, he 
did not very much fear the execution of it. But 
Frau Hoffmann was full of alarm and displeasure. 

As she was a discreet, politic woman, who knew 
how to utilize circumlocution for the accomplish- 
ment of any purpose, she did not utter a word 
about Catherine in reference to her son ; but, when 
her husband said that he had warned old Meinart 
about the girl and, if need be, would run her out 
of Hela in disgrace, she put in : 

“ Don’t ’think that Frau Deik will let the apple of 
her eye be mistreated in that way ! It is not wise 
to get into trouble with her, and pay the highest 
price for everything you buy !” 

“ The girl makes ten to one,” replied Herr Hoff- 
mann, on whom the last argument had weight. 
“ But I think, as Karl will soon be home, Frau Deik 
will be glad to get rid of Catherine !” 

“Glad!” repeated the wife indignantly. “You 
have made a great mistake there. Anybody can 
tell how Frau Deik esteems the girl by her cloth- 


130 


The Mask of Beauty. 


ing, and then the way she trusts her indicates that 
she regards her as her own child. My belief is 
that she cares very little for Karl in comparison, 
and, if he don’t marry the girl, he will have to be 
content with half the inheritance.” 

“ Karl will not marry a servant girl whom every- 
body else despises !” cried the Bur germeister, scorn- 
fully. 

“ I, at least, might take her in,” said his wife. 
“ People often marry for money, but at least every- 
body should marry to suit himself and not others.” 

The Biir germeister could scarcely trust his senses. 
He approached his wife, seized her arm, shook her 
well and ejaculated : 

“ What do you mean by this talk ? Will you 
strengthen Wilhelm in his madness ? Do you want 
him to marry this — this child of a runaway soldier ?” 

“ Want it? God knows I don’t ! I can’t bear the 
thought/’ was the ferventresponse. “ But what I say 
I say, and what I would do if I were master I know.” 

Just here Wilhelm stepped between his parents, 
and told his mother not to beg for him, as he was a 
man, and would do what he chose. 

“ Silence, I tell you !” commanded the father, and 
the mother began to weep and sob out : 

“ God is my witness that I don’t want to have 
anything to do with the girl. And I know it is a 
great honor to be the first people in Hela. But 
sometimes it is better to give up at first than to cry 
one’s eyes out when it is too late. As Frau Deik 
treats the girl as her child and would be willing for 
her to marry Karl, why might not we do the same ? I 


The Mask of Beauty. 




cannot bear to think of my son going away on the 
wide world, though I am old, and will be here but a 
little while.” 

This judicious harangue had the desired effect 
upon both men, making the one thoughtful and the 
other contented. The artful woman had gained 
the main thing desired — time — and depended upon 
future machinations for the completion of her 
scheme. Not that she had the slightest idea of 
Wilhelm’s marrying Catherine, but if she could 
only prevent his running away at once, she prom- 
ised herself to unite him to another girl of her own 
choosing. 

With this comforting thought she left the room. 
Neither father nor son was in humor for a tHe-d- 
tete^ and no sooner was the door closed behind the 
quasi-peacemaker that they took down their hats 
and capes, and accidentally held the conversation 
just described with Frau Deik. 

When the two sauntered down the street from 
the shop, the Biirgermeister exclaimed : 

“ Karl will play the devil when he returns !” and 
sticking his hand deeper into his trousers’ pockets, 
added : “ Karl had better have stayed in service.” 

Wilhelm did not reply, and after a few more 
strides, he went on : 

“Frau Deik had a thousand thalers when her 
husband died. To deprive Karl of this would be 
just like Frau Deik. But if she should also take 
away the house and furniture — ” 

At this point the two men separated and went 
their respective ways. 



CHAPTER XII. 

When the Hoffmanns turned away from Frau 
Deik, she knitted so rapidly that the stitches could 
not be observed. This was a sure indication of un- 
usual wrath. She had been touched upon her ten- 
derest point, for, though she did not fear death, she 
would not bear the slightest reference to it. To be 
so frequently reminded of Karl’s inheritance was 
equivalent to being laid aside before she was dead. 
At such times she regretted that she had worked 
so hard, determined to spend as much as she could 
for the future, and heartily hoped she would have 
nothing to leave him. To vex and annoy every- 
body, she sometimes thought of investing all her 
means in an organ for the church, which would be 
a constant reminder of their disappointed calcula- 
tions. But such thoughts were only confined to her 
angry moods. If she had known what interpreta- 
tion the Hoffmanns had placed upon her language 
she would have been surprised, indeed. Nothing 
was further from her sober intentions than de- 
frauding the natural and only heir of the Deiks of 
his rights. Good sense and family pride required 
[132] 


The Mask of Beauty. 


133 


that the home, which had descended from father to 
son for more than a century should not be diverted 
from the proper heir. 

It was truly no fault of Karl’s that she had failed 
to have a son, and no matter what kind of a man 
he was, it would have been ridiculous and wrong to 
put an alien and a stranger in his place. Least of 
all would she, in her sober senses, think of making 
the poor orphan from Dantzig Heisternest the heir 
of all the valued property of a Burgerfrau of Hela. 

But Frau Deik was to-day greatly incensed. 
When the author of her vexation was out of sight, 
the windows of his opposite dwelling vexed her, 
because the sun struck the glass and dazzled her 
eyes, and his wife vexed her because she allowed 
the dog to howl on the door-step. Even the swal- 
lows vexed her, because she knew their presence 
prophesied an impending storm. The truth is 
that nothing pleases an angry person, and Frau 
Deik, when she entered her house to escape these 
annoyances, found the sight of Catherine no less 
displeasing. 

“ Don’t sit here !” she said sharply. “ Go out and 
air yourself !” 

Catherine knew better than to make demur to 
such a tone of command, and resumed her former 
position on the door-step. 

But when her mistress soon appeared in her 
Sunday kerchief and silk apron, as if to pay a visit, 
and locked the shop door behind her, Catherine was 
so astonished that she involuntarily asked : 

“ Are you locking the door?” 


134 


The Mask of Beauty. 


“ Yes,” was the curt reply. “ I will be back by 
seven o’clock.” 

‘‘ But suppose some one comes ?” returned the 
girl. 

“ Let him come again !” was the still sharper 
reply. 

Catherine dared to say no more, but when Frau 
Deik had gone a few steps, she timidly called after 
her : 

“ How shall I get in?” 

“ You can wait where you are or take a walk,” said 
the old woman, bent upon .showing her perfect 
command of her own property and never dreaming 
of the inferences drawn by the poor girl. 

Never before had Frau Deik closed her door upon 
her servant, nor was it her custom to bid her stay 
outdoors or go away. A terrible fear seized her 
that the Biirgenneister had sent her away for the 
purpose of convincing Frau Deik of her guilt. 
Memory rapidly reviewed the happy years of her 
sojourn under the roof of her benefactress, and she 
suddenly realized the strength of her love and 
gratitude to its owner. She now knew no other 
human being had the same hold upon her heart. 
To carry out the will and receive the approval of 
this kind mistress was her highest delight in life. 
How could she fail to almost adore the one who had 
rescued her from want and supplied all her neces- 
sities, religious and physical ? 

And yet she had never dared more direct expres- 
sion of gratitude for them than kissing fervently 
the hand of the giver. Frau Deik was the only 


The Mask of Beauty. 


^35 


person in the world who had proved herself a trusty 
friend, for the pastor had no way of bestowing ben- 
efits other than spiritual, and the attentions of Wil- 
helm and Gotthard she could not regard as 
honorable, in view of her forlorn condition. Aside 
from Frau Deik, poverty and loneliness confronted 
her. How fervently she wished that good woman 
was either her mother or guardian ! Then she 
could easily confess what lay so heavy on her heart. 
But between mistress and servant there lay such a 
broad gulf, where confidences were concerned, that 
she knew not how to bridge it. An indescribable 
feeling of desertion thus entered her heart, and an 
, unpleasant presentiment followed that she could not 
much longer live in Hela. 

Then the days of childhood came vividly to mind 
— her grandmother, Mathes, Pinor, the beautiful 
woods, the Sunken City. But an involuntary shud- 
der ensued at remembrance of the repeated cautions 
of both pastor and mistress to put such memories 
down. But the more she tried to conquer them the 
less she succeeded. How vivid seemed the hope of 
reaching her father’s native land and seeing it from 
the town lighthouse. She smiled to think of her 
childish folly. She now knew that nothing further 
than Dantzig was visible, though during her three 
years’ residence in Hela she had never mounted 
the tower. She knew no better reason for this 
neglect than the association of the lighthouse with 
the forbidden memories, and the repeated invita- 
tions of Gotthard to accompany him thither. Such 
brooding produced an unwonted melancholy, in the 


136 


The Mask of Beauty. 


midst of which the beauty of the day or the 
natural buoyancy of youth and health reasserted 
their sway. She thought she would not mope 
longer, but take a walk, as her mistress suggested. 
Only she did not follow the direction of the other 
pleasure-seekers, but the path toward the sea. 

It was five o’clock in the afternoon when she left * 
the end of the town and reached the beach. Bright 
sun and water met her gaze, and the glass dome of 
the lighthouse sparkled almost as if the lamp was 
lit. The white, clean tower attracted the girl’s 
admiration, and almost without knowing how or 
why, she found herself climbing its winding stairs. 
The unusual exertion of mounting steps, combined 
with a dry, suffocating heat from the sun’s long 
power, made the girl stop breathless at the top of 
the long flight. 

Mr. Meinart, hearing the approaching steps, 
opened the door of the small room and confronted 
the heated, embarrassed visitor. As only a few 
hours previously the Bur germeister had warned him 
against this very person, the old man naturally 
presumed she had come to ask some favor from 
him, and bluntly asked ; 

“What do you come here for?” But, really, he 
was glad to have any one break the monotony of 
his life, and added, as he limped back in the room 
and she followed : “ I see everybody has gone out 
this pretty day !” 

Catherine, but little recovered from her embar- 
rassment, replied : 

“My mistress went to take coffee with Frau 


The Mask of Beauty. 


137 


Menken and, as she told me to walk out, I had 
had never been here — ” 

She paused, awaiting the encouragement on 
which she had a right to depend, because he had 
shown himself rather glad to see her and, on holi- 
days, had often passed jokes with her in the shop. 

But her hopes were blasted. The old man began 
to suspect that the girl was trying to waylay Gott- 
hard, and that his son should not marry her he was 
determined. So he stood by the table and tried to 
fill his short clay pipe. But, from mingled weak 
ness and nervousness, the tobacco was hard to get 
right, and some seconds elapsed ere it was placed, 
the flint and steel used for making a light, and the 
smoke drawn in quick puffs by his lips. During 
this last process, he said in broken words to finish 
Catherine’s remark : 

“ Up here ? But what is there here to see or to 
get?” 

The pipe being gone out by this time, another 
light had to be struck and the process renewed. Mean- 
while, he placed himself upon the wooden stool, 
just before the support which held the compass, 
and repeated : 

“ There is nothing at all here to see ! Nothing 
at all !” 

Catherine stood by the table, speechless with em- 
barrassment, and felt the sharp eyes of the light 
house-keeper scan her figure from head to foot 
After another pause, the old man repeated : 

“ No, there is nothing at all here to see !” and 
then went on, as if the idea suggested others : “ It 


•38 


The Mask of Beauty, 


is terrible to be here always alone, through the 
long days and nights — through storm and wind, 
thunder and lightning — all alone ! To sit here al- 
ways and watch the water and the ships going to 
Dantzig ! They come from England, Sweden, Den- 
mark and America, and many other places. They 
come and go, but some do not return. Often I sit 
and ask myself : Wherefrom and whither and what 
if I should move the light to the wrong side ?” 

He smiled with savage pleasure to see the effect 
his words produced on the listener, and continued : 

“ If I did it, great shipwrecks there would be ! 
And all the prayers the pastor might offer would 
not save them, but — ” 

“But, surely, you would not do it.^” gasped the 
shocked girl. 

The old man stretched out his hand, drew the 
girl close to his side, and said, in a lower voice : 

“ No, I would not do it, although it is no worse 
a deed than those for which men receive crosses 
and honors. But,” and now he looked cautiously 
around to assure himself that he was not over- 
heard, “ but there is One who don’t suffer it. 
And if they are drowned, the water will not hold 
them. They come out and, dead though they be, 
they mount the bare walls of the tower by day 
or night, by sunlight or firelight.” 

He broke off because his pipe-stem was clogged, 
and he must seek an old wire to clear it. 

Catherine stood motionless and distraught by 
his side. At last she managed to articulate : 

“ Do you believe this ?” 


The Mask of Beauty. 


139 


Don’t you ?” he retorted. 

“ The pastor says it is nothing but sinful super- 
stition,” she answered more firmly. 

Herr Meinart shook his head wisely and an- 
swered : , 

“ Nobody can be more clever than their knowl- 
edge. At the parsonage or in Dantzig these 
things were never heard of, nor have I seen them 
since I have watched the new lighthouse, but be- 
fore the oid beacon was removed there was much 
talk about them. I myself knew a man who had 
seen the spirit with the lantern, and all said their 
prayers would have availed if the beach had been 
blessed.” 

This. weird harangue struck Catherine mysteri- 
ously. Confused visions of childish belief, so long 
thrust away, awoke in her mind. Even the old 
man seemed altered. As often as she had seen him 
in Hela and as marked a figure as his crooked leg 
made him on the street, to-day, in the warm, high 
room, he looked smaller and more specter-like as 
he discoursed to her on topics forbidden by the 
pastor. The girl felt a desire to rid herself of the 
spell of these superstitious feelings, and asked : 

“ Can I go out on the gallery?” 

Yes, go if you wish,” replied old Meinart, im- 
pressively, “but I tell you there is nothing to see !” 

A strong sea-breeze quickly served to dissipate 
the shadows made upon her mind by the old crea- 
ture’s talk. 

One glance over the scene below almost took 
away her breath. For the first time in her life, she 


140 


The Mask of Beauty, 


saw an extended view, and realized the connection 
between countries. She had never conceived how 
her native land rose from the sea and how small it 
was beside the mainland opposite. The world 
below was strange, and the peninsula as beautiful 
to her eyes as the wonderful city of the sea had 
been. 

The warm weather had dotted the meadowland 
at the foot of the tower with white, red and yellow 
flowers, making a garden of beauty between the 
shining sands of the shore and the dark green 
woods farther inland. 

A little way from the lighthouse spread the 
town, with its white houses, sunlit windows, church 
and parsonage, and the bell-tower rising from the 
center. Yet farther on the site of old Hela, 
destroyed by fire and pirates, stood the ruins of a 
church, where superstition said a treasure was 
buried and watched by a fierce, fire-vomiting dog. 
But to see the broken walls bathed in clear sunlight 
and covered with green vines suggested nothing 
more than the picturesque. Catherine’s eyes 
returned most lovingly to the neat, cleanly Hela 
where neither inhabitant was visible on the street, 
nor poultry in the yards. Only the swallows darted 
here and there above the roofs, or sought the nests 
afforded them by the hospitable eaves of the 
houses. Now and then a white sea-gull flew by the 
tower toward the wooded heights of the mainland, 
to-day for the first time seen by the wondering girl. 
As she gazed in admiration upon the peninsula, 
Catherine seemed to see a paradise. 


The Mask of Beauty, 


41 


She could not divine how her mother had ever 
left such a home, or why she had longed for 
another. So near by the church where she had 
partaken of the Lord’s Supper was the pastor’s 
pretty garden, reaching almost to the sea. And 
above all, in the middle of the street, was her beloved 
home, Frau Deik’s house, whose grayish walls, 
white shutters and shining glass distinguished it 
above the rest. 

She rejoiced in all the new landscape as if it were 
her own property, and so lighthearted was she as to 
have tried to fly, if any one had told her that she 
could. O 

In such a happy mood she heard the door behind 
her open and Gotthard’s voice ask joyfully : 

“ Are you here ?” 

She turned in displeasure, and meeting his loving 
blue eyes, she remembered that he might well in- 
terpret her coming as a favor to himself, and there- 
fore answered in a very cold manner : 

“ I knew that you were not here.” 

Gotthard was so completely set back that he could 
not speak. But the girl did not relish his standing 
silent by her side, especially as she feared Herr 
Meinart might be watching their movements from 
within. The son was also cramped by his father’s 
proximity, but seeing Catherine about to leave the 
gallery, he asked, with sudden fervor : 

“ Catherine, can’t you bear me ?” 

This question brought back the morning’s trouble 
forcibly and destroyed all the recent bright 
thoughts, and the girl, like most mortals when 


142 


The Mask of Beauty, 


vexed, venting her spleen upon the nearest object, 
answered defiantly : 

“ No, I can’t bear you ! Leave me in peace ! I 
don’t want to see you again !” 

This defiance roused Gotthard’s jealousy, and he 
cried hastily, as he seized her by the arm : 

“ You are thinking of Wilhelm !” 

“ Let me loose !” exclaimed the girl, trying to 
loosen his hold. 

“ No,” cried Gotthard, catching her left hand in 
his right, “you shall not go until you tell me !” 

“ I have no use for any man. I have nothing to 
ask of them. I hate men !" 

The scorn and indignation in her eyes fully cor- 
roborated these fierce words. 

The man released his hold, but whispered men- 
acingly : 

“ Take care, if you do not tell the truth !” 

Then he stepped back, and Catherine reentered 
the room where Herr Meinart was taking his coifee 
and bread. She hastily bade him good night, as it 
was growing late, and he was glad for her to go. 
When he knew she was out of hearing, he called 
Gotthard, and said, with an oracular air : 

“You arranged to meet her here, did you? But, 
mark me, as neither of you has anything to live 
on, you had better get rid of her at once.” 

“ I wish I had never seen her !” muttered the 
young man, but, though his words fell on the 
father’s ear, he made no reply. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

From this time poor Catherine had a hard time, 
for Wilhelm, relying upon his mother’s help, dogged 
the girl’s footsteps whenever she left the house. 
Gotthard, convinced that she would smile upon this 
open wooing, watched her with sharpest jealousy, 
and everybody in Hela believed that the Biirger- 
meister silently allowed the thing, because Frau 
Deik was going to make her heir to her property. 

No one dared to ask the lord of Hela about the 
matter, but more than one had tried to get the 
truth from his wife. With usual policy, Frau Hoff- 
mann replied that no person could read another 
one’s intentions, although Frau Deik made so much 
of Catherine ; both she and her husband wanted to 
see their son marry a Burger girl, and no other. 
Every country to its customs. She had seen a 
woman in Dantzig clothed in silk and velvet and 
riding in a carriage who had been a servant in the 
house she owned. But Hela was not Dantzig, and 
it was nothing that Catherine was a proper, indus- 
trious girl. 

[143] 


144 


The Mask of Beauty. 


Naturally, it happened that both Frau Deik and 
Catherine heard these rumors, and one day the for- 
mer said quietly : 

“ People say you have designs upon Wilhelm 
Hoffmann. Is it true?” 

The girl felt as if a stone was lifted from her 
heart, in having this opportunity for confessing all 
she wished. 

Frau Deik listened quietly to her, and replied : 

“ I was very certain that you could not be so 
foolish ! You cannot marry a Burger s son, and 
you will not bring disgrace on me, I know. Don’t 
trouble yourself about them, but attend to your 
business, and I will try to manage them !” 

After that, she kept the young men as much as 
possible from Catherine, and the watchful gossips 
inferred from her action that she intended the girl 
to marry Karl. Of course, the attentions of the 
male sex and the kindness of Frau Deik to 
Catherine evoked the jealousy and enmity of the 
other young women in Hela. Various were the 
charges brought against her. Some said that men 
were like children, intent upon securing what was 
peculiar and, as they' could not get a Moorish 
princess, admired the girl for her accidental 
resemblance to one. Others said that she was an 
improper creature, who adorned herself to catch 
all the beaux, and did not intend to marry any 
one. There were those who believed she only se- 
duced these men to follow her in order to prove 
her favor to Karl when he came. That Frau Deik 
would or would not approve the match was not 


The Mask of Beauty. 


145 


taken into consideration, as the two young people 
were more than a match for one old woman. Al- 
ready, Catherine seemed to have things her own 
way ; not only with her mistress, but with the 
pastor. How cunning and artful she was to in- 
gratiate herself with the learned pastor ! She 
would meet him on the street or anywhere, and 
converse with the ease and grace which none of 
them possessed in his presence. Altogether, she 
was a wicked and objectionable character, whose 
conduct should be punished by being shunned by 
all decent women and left to her male admirers. 

Poor Catherine was entirely guiltless of the 
charges brought, and undeserving of the severe 
chastisement inflicted. Very soon she began to 
feel the edge of the malicious persecution, with- 
out comprehending the why or wherefore. Ill-will 
is like bad air. When we feel its influence, it 
renders us sick and miserable, as does an impure 
atmosphere. Heretofore, Catherine had been al- 
ways summoned to help the needy, and rejoiced 
to render her services. But, suddenly, all desire 
and invitation for her presence ceased. She in- 
stinctively felt that distrust and dislike were given 
her instead of kindness and confidence, and, natur- 
ally, her own feelings became modeled upon those 
of her enemies. For the first time the girl experi- 
enced real heart-sorrow. The years of her sojourn 
under Frau Deik’s roof had been peacefully spent, 
because she received the favor of mistress and 
neighbors. 

Seldom had she thought of the miserable past or 


146 The Mask of Beauty, 


the uncertain future. She had the pastor’s command 
to forget the former, and promise to provide 
for the future. But now that she was mature 
and worldly-wise to some extent, care and sorrow 
pressed upon her heart. Her liveline.ss melted 
before the fierce heat of unkindness. 

Neither at the spring, the butcher’s or the 
baker’s would the young girls vouchsafe a remark 
or address , a question to her. In the shop they 
demanded what they wished to purchase and silently 
left. 

The men did not fail to observe the conduct of 
young find old women, and shrewdly guessing the 
cause, became the more importunate in their atten- 
tions to Catherine. But this action was annoying 
in the extreme to the girl. She laid aside her old, 
pleasant dignity, was rude to one, sharp to another, 
spiteful to another, and acted so strangely that her 
mistrevss first jested and afterward scolded her for 
her wrongdoing. It is an old but true saying that in 
service as in marriage, parties should beware of the 
first unkind word. Poor Catherine soon realized that 
the former pleasant relations to her mistress were 
altered. 

There was no change in food or clothing, nor was 
there cause for complaint on either side as to ful- 
filled duty, and yet a nameless mistrust separated 
them which almost broke the orphan’s heart. 

One day Frau Deik visited the pastor and said : 

“ I have no complaint to make of Catherine, and 
yet the longer she stays with me the more I 
realize the difference between her and an own 


The Mask of Beauty. 


H7 


daughter. I think it a misfortune for an old woman 
like me not to have a daughter.” 

“ Well,” replied the pastor in a consoling voice, 
“ your nephew will soon be home.” 

Frau Deik shook her head thoughtfully and said : 

“ Karl could not bear the girl when she came, and 
now that she has grown so pretty, I doubt whether 
it is proper to have her in the house with him. 
What to do with her I don’t know.” 

The good man did not realize how unpleasant 
affairs had grown, nor how Catherine many times 
thought of running away if Karl’s treatment on his 
return was as bad as when he left. 

And Karl soon came. 




CHAPTER XIV. 

One day toward the end of September, at two 
o’clock in the afternoon, Karl once more entered 
Frau Deik’s home. In the small garden behind the 
house cabbages and turnips were dug up, prepara- 
tory to being stored away for winter use, for, 
although the midday sun was warm, mornings and 
nights gave warning of cold weather. 

On every market-day the fishing-boats brought 
back from town loads of potatoes and peat for the 
Helans. This was market-day, and in one of the 
boats came Karl Deik from Putzig. When the long- 
expected nephew appeared, his first glance fell 
upon Catherine, as she mounted the steps leading 
from the vegetable cellar. Frau Deik was below 
preparing the receptacles, and the girl was carrying 
down the cabbages in baskets. The bright sun- 
light brought into clear relief her well-shaped figure 
in tight jerkin, a narrow dress and her dark cheeks 
flushed by physical exertion, while the black ker- 
chief set off her shining hair and the involuntary 
[148] 


The Mask of Beauty. 


49 


expression of displeasure dignified her black eyes. 
She stood upon the next to the last step, so that her 
form was not visible below the knee, and such a 
pretty picture did she make that Karl exclaimed 
warmly : 

“ Zounds, Catherine, you have grown beautiful !” 

These words produced, instead of pleasure, the 
opposite impression upon the girl, and Frau Deik, 
who caught them, came up from the cellar, little 
gratified by this first demonstration from her future 
boarder. But the sight of him improved her tem- 
per. Surely, the military discipline had worked a 
wonderful change in figure and expression of the 
young man. His carriage was erect, his glance 
stately, his hair cut like an officer's, and his whole 
demeanor self-important. His soldier uniform, 
black hat and small cane, did not fail to please Frau 
Deik, as she knew not even the Biirgermeister s^\\- 
helm had such fine clothing. The sight of Karl, 
thus attractive, brought into the old woman’s heart 
a feeling which, to her non-analytical mind, was 
the instinct of blood-relationship, but was really no 
more than relapse to old custom. 

A few minutes before she had looked forward to 
the young man’s return with dread, and had not 
concealed from Catherine that she expected him to 
be a grand city boarder, whom nothing would 
please ; but, now that he stood before her, she was 
glad to see him, and though he, as a stranger, criti- 
cised the smallness of the house, the insipidness 
of the coffee, the saltiness of the butter, she did 
not resent his rudeness, but brought out the best 


The Mask of Beauty. 


150 


she had and gave undisguised admiration to his 
handsome person. 

Such treatment strengthened Karl’s vanity and 
gave free vent to his tongue. He was quick to see 
the impression made upon his aunt, and determined 
to turn it to account. He discoursed about the 
king, prince and princesses before whom he had 
paraded, and whose palaces he had guarded ; about 
the theatres he had attended and the lovely uni- 
form with golden lace he had worn ; of the court- 
officer he had served, and many other attractions 
and advantages renounced by him in order to 
return and take care of his aunt. Strange to say, 
Frau Deik, with her knowledge and just suspicion 
of human nature, was too rejoiced to have her 
handsome, interesting nephew once more to exer- 
cise the proper judgment, and gave due credence 
to all he said. Besides, she was, like most mortals, 
incapable of judging her nephew by the same strict 
law as other men. Pride — family pride — filled her 
breast when Karl bore himself to one after another 
of the Helans with consequential air and, even to 
Biir germeister, showed how much he thought of 
himself. As a tribute to the discharged soldier of 
the Imperial Alexander, Grenadier Regiment, the 
good woman sent Catherine to fetch a bottle of her 
best Geneva wine, and Karl drank with every visitor 
to prove that his fine dress had not made him 
proud. 

That evening, when all company was gone, Frau 
Deik sat down in her cosy room opposite Karl, to 
be further amused and edified by his conversation, 


The Mask of Beauty. 15 1 


and Catherine, after finishing her kitchen work, 
came in, as usual, with her spinning-wheel. 

“ What do you want ?” asked Frau Deik. 

The girl was so much surprised by the question, 
that the mistress repeated it. 

“ I want to spin as I always do,” returned Cath- 
erine, still more astonished. 

The old woman, appearing not to observe this 
feeling, said : 

“ Somebody must stay in the shop, for, if you go 
back and forth, you will make this room cold. Take 
your wheel along !” 

The orphan obeyed quickly, with the sad realiza- 
tion that the so-called bond of kinship had prevailed 
against her. 

No sooner had the door closed behind the girl’s 
retreating form, than Karl Deik motioned in the 
direction followed, and asked : 

“ Is she tamed ?” 

This question brought the mistress to realize 
what a grievous wrong she had done the poor girl ; 
but, when a person is determined to act against his 
best instincts, many excuses will suggest themselves 
for the course. vShe thought that it was best for 
Catherine to show Karl that she was a servant, so 
that he would act in a discreet, superior manner 
toward her, and answered coldly : 

“ She is altogether tamed. I can depend upon 
her for industry, honor, constancy and amiability. 
But what to do with her now, I don’t know. I 
don’t care to keep her, as there is so little to do in 
winter !” 


152 


The Mask of Beauty. 


“ Could you get along without her?” said Karl, 
indifferently. 

“ Now that you are here I can,” replied the aunt, 
giving him a searching glance. 

He nodded his head and twirled his mustache, 
but a close observer would have noted that he 
was thinking of other things. Frau Deik, trying 
to guess what he meditated, ventured : 

“ Are you going to sea, or — ” 

“ You must have somebody to attend the garden 
and do rough work !” he said positively. 

“ And, pray, what are you going to do?” asked 
the aunt, sharply. 

His tone in answering, while aiming to be jest- 
ing, showed unmistakable offense and determina- 
tion : 

“ I did not come back here to cut wood and fetch 
peat, nor to stand in the shop after returning 
from fishing. Rather than that I would have saved 
myself the long journey and stayed in Berlin.” 

Though Frau Deik was not pleased with this 
remark, she tried to attribute it to jest, and hoped 
that after her nephew had shown off to the neigh- 
bors, he would settle down to work. At any rate, 
she would not spoil the first evening’s delights by 
disagreeable forebodings, and replied evasively : 

“ If I can’t do better, I will take another girl.” 

“ But why should Catherine go away?” persisted 
Karl. 

This question, though spoken without design by 
the nephew, aroused suspicion in the aunt. She 
put together his exclamation of pleasure at the first 


The Mask of Beatdy, 


153 


glimpse of the girl with the present query, and 
drew an unjust conclusion. But she vented her 
spleen, not upon the supposed guilty nephew, but 
upon the innocent girl now sitting lonely in the 
cold shop. She earnestly desired to nip any liking 
for Catherine in the bud, and went blunderingly to 
accomplish it. 

‘‘ I can and do not complain of the girl,” she 
replied after a pause, “ but I want to get rid of her 
because the neighbors discuss her. She is too much 
admired by men.” 

A gleam of mingled curiosity and interest shot, 
unnoticed by Frau Deik, over Karl’s face as he 
repeated : 

“ Is she much admired?” 

“ I have never seen her show interest in any one. 
She stays at home and does her work, but all the 
young men are crazy about her. Gotthard Meinart 
dogs her footsteps, and Wilhelm, across the street, 
has taken a notion to marry her, because his mother 
has put some foolish idea in his head of my leaving 
her something. I am afraid they will turn the 
girl’s head, and I want her to leave before I have to 
treat her badly.” 

“ The men are fools !” laughed Karl, while anger 
lurked in his voice. “ What made Frau Hoffmann 
expect you to give Catherine anything ? Has she 
forgotten my existence ?” 

The nephew’s indignation delighted Frau Deik, 
who had long resented the liberty this woman had 
taken in disposing of her effects for her. The lofty 
position occupied by the BUrgermeister s wife had so 


i54 


The Mask of Beauty. 


far protected her from being attacked, but Frau 
Deik, now swelling with wrath, ejaculated : 

“ The pastor shall hold her to account. I will be 
certain. I will not fail — ” 

“ If need be, we shall do so. Btit if Catherine is 
useful, why not keep her? Now that a man is in 
the house, he head will be kept level, and I dare 
swear that any fellow you don’t want to sit about 
the shop, sha’ n’t do it !” interrupted Karl, imperi- 
ously. 

He had drawn his own inferences from his aunt’s 
revelations, and wanted to show her that he had 
learned more things in Berlin than military tactics. 

The knowledge of other men’s love for the . beau- 
tiful servant had kindled a vague desire to outstrip 
them all, and the surest way to accomplish his pur- 
pose was to keep her at hand. 

Then he rose, poured out a glasfe of wine from 
the side-table, drank it down at a gulp, and said : 

“ I haven’t tasted such good Geneva wine in the 
last three years, though, in Berlin, we get the best 
from Manover and France. Truly, I am glad to 
get home !” 

This was the signal to renew his reminiscences of 
the great city and of other cities and coimtries 
through which he had passed, and h'rau Deik lis- 
tened with breathless attention to all he said. 

When the clock struck ten, ever}^ one in Hela was 
asleep excepting themselves, the street watchman 
and the lighthouse-keeper. As Karl ceased speak- 
ing and wearily yawned, his auditor rose and 
opened the shop-door to summon Catherine to bed. 


The Mask of Beauty, 


155 


The lamp burned dimly on the counter, and the 
girl leaned her head against it, asleep. The noise 
of the opening door roused her suddenly, making 
her spring to her feet and look around with the 
surprise natural to unexpected awakening. 

Frau Deik walked to the front of the shop to 
secure the money and bar the door. Karl, utilizing 
the opportunity, came close to the girl and whis- 
pered : 

Is she always so sleepy ? The Berlin ladies are 
active day and night.” 

When Catherine, flushed with embarrassment, 
attempted to leave the room, he put himself in the 
way and pretended that she was awkward from 
sleepiness and could not find the door. 

“Save us !” he said, so low that Frau Deik, who 
was counting the day’s receipts out loud, could not 
hear. “Will she trip over her own feet? What 
did you do last night that you can’t hold your eyes 
open now?” 

Then he turned off, and the girl ran to bed with 
the same terror as if she had seen a ghost. 




CHAPTER XV. 

Frau Deik made a mistake when she went to bed 
that night, thinking that her nephew would prove 
a help and support. It only required a few weeks 
to prove his intentions. 

She had, sensibly, supposed that, after he had 
visited all his relatives and friends in his new city 
dress and given them his experiences, he would 
resume his fisher’s costume and work. 

When the old woman asked him about his failure 
to do so, he explained that he had sold his clothes 
when he left Hela, as he knew that he would out- 
grow them, and now it was extravagant to buy a 
new suit of the kind, when his uniform was quite 
new. He did not add that he dreaded insulting 
his shapely limbs by the loose trousers and jacket, 
after honoring them with the becoming uniform. 
Nor did he acknowledge that the costume was the 
best part of soldier life. How often had he lain in 
barracks and longed to be on the . sea in an open 
boat ! How often had he envied the laboring 
people passing through the streets, whose actions 
and goings were not cramped as his ! How often 
had he believed that Hela was a better place than 
[156] 


The Mask of Beauty. 


157 


Berlin for him ! But not a word of such acknowl- 
edgment escaped his lips after he reached his 
native land. 

On the contrary, he began, at once, to criticise 
the town and suggest means for its improvement. 
When an old citizen would suggest that no change 
— no improvement — was possible to a place that 
had been unaltered for centuries, he would ridicule 
the idea and declare that, if more young men were 
to go into military service instead of fishing, they 
would sustain his position. Why, people in Berlin 
did not believe him when he told of the primitive 
custom practiced by the Helans of all fishing and 
dividing the catch. It was incredible where there 
were variety of business and plenty of money, that 
people should be so foolish. All fishing towns were 
not alike. His corporal lived in a village of Pome- 
rania, where the people knew something besides 
catching fish. A steamboat ran there from Berlin, 
and thousands of visitors spent the bathing season 
in the village. The poorest dwellings were rented 
for hundreds of thalers to these rich visitors. Why 
might not Hela be made such a resort ? Then the 
Burgermeister or Frau Deik or any other citizen 
could make more money in one summer than by 
half a lifetime of fishing. Such plans and thoughts 
were not without weight to those whom the desire 
for gain and weariness of the monotonous life 
possessed. 

Day and night, the back-room of Frau Deik’s was 
filled with different men, who drank and discussed 
with her nephew the impractical subject of making 


The Mask of BeatUy. 


the town a celebrated bathing-place. Thus, time 
flew, and Karl spent his hours in ease and luxury, 
without seeming to be lazy. Catherine had much 
labor to keep cleaned the eating and drinking 
vessels, for every visitor had to be treated hospitably. 

When Frau Deik remonstrated with her nephew 
for the great and useless expenditure, he asked her 
if she had ever sold as much brandy, butter, coffee, 
herring or Lubecker cheese as since his return, and 
called, it the beginning of the prosperous future, 
when Hela should be a bathing resort. Once in- 
augurated, the poor woman could not stop this 
course of action on his part, and soon realized her- 
self powerless to manage her own house. She had 
asked the Biirgermeister to help her bring Karl to 
his proper demeanor, but, unfortunately for her, 
that important person was interested in the bathing 
schemes, and was corresponding with friends in both 
Dantzig and Putzig as to their feasibility. 

In despair, she then turned to the pastor ; biit 
his sensible representations of the futility of the 
hopes only incited Karl and others to greater 
interest. 

Among those most intent upon the design were 
Wilhelm and Gotthard. Although they were so 
much displeased at the return of Karl Deik, his 
grand airs and bragging talk soon fascinated them, 
so that they spent much time with him. If un the 
town there was usually little business done in win- 
ter, this season was marked by exceptional idleness 
among the young men. Fathers looked with pain 
upon this glaring delinquency of their sons, and 


The Mask of Beauty. 




mothers were loud in protestation against the new 
ideas, which had demoralized all the men. 

These Burgerfraus, always used to living in their 
own homes, did not relish the thought of grand 
strangers coming in to regard them as servants. 
Nor did they think that fathers and sons were 
likely to set out on a prosperous career by visiting 
and drinking at Karl Deik’s request. 

Frau Hoffmann led off in complaint against the 
ex-soldier, as he had persuaded the Biir germeister to 
offer his dwelling for rent to seekers for health in 
the Dantzig Times. She declared that Karl intended 
to offer his aunt’s house soon, though she had often 
heard that person say her house was her own, and, as 
to herself, as long as she lived she would never suf- 
fer a stranger to occupy her home ! 

But the men continued firm in their adherence 
to the cherished plan and their visits to the cham- 
ber of consultation. Thus, the women had to pour 
the vials of their wrath upon something, and, as the 
residence of Frau Deik was the seat of trouble, one 
of its inmates must bear the blame. 

As Karl was young and handsome,. could discourse 
about Berlin and other great things, and was polite 
and eligible to the Burger girls, the merited blame 
was only put on him by Frau Hoffmann. Of course 
Frau Deik, who was equal sufferer and complainer 
as the other women, could not be blamed for what 
occurred in her house. Catherine, then, as the only 
other inmate of the place, and as a weak, friendless 
orphan, had to bear the accumulated weight of 
censure. 


i6o 


The Mask of Beauty. 


The more the women thought about it the more 
plainly they saw that the girl was the cause — the 
root — of all trouble. Everybody knew that Wilhelm 
and Gotthard had formerly cared nothing for Karl’s 
company, and it could only be in hopes of seeing 
her that they made a pretense of visiting him now. 
The cunning girl knew very well how much it 
would be to her advantage for the place to be a 
resort, as she could make herself fascinating to city 
as well as country folks. Lastly, few failed to 
believe her an unvirtuous girl since the handsome 
Karl had returned. 

And truly poor Catherine found it difficult to 
secure herself from the rudeness of the ex-soldier. 
The information which Frau Deik had given him 
on his arrival to prevent his interest in the girl, had 
brought about just the opposite effect from the one 
desired. To know that others had wooed her in 
vain excited his vanity and desire to prove that a 
soldier of the Imperial Alexander Regiment could 
be successful when they failed. 

One evening toward the Spring, when the wind 
was wildly blowing over the snow and sea, and 
there was no possibility of fishing, Wilhelm, Gott- 
hard and two others came to the shop on the osten- 
sible mission of discussing “ business ” with Karl. 
But this business began as usual with drinking, and 
ended with card-playing. As usual, also, Karl had 
taken possession of the cosy back room, and Frau 
Deik, in order not to see what she could not prevent, 
sat with Catherine in the shop. Both sat silent, and 
pursued their avocations of knitting and sewing. 


The Mask of Beauty. 


i6i 


Frau Deik was too proud to acknowledge to her 
servant that one — and the only one of her family 
living — had treated her ill. She was too proud to 
say how Karl had set her aside and taken command 
of her house. 

Outside was heard the roaring wind, inside the 
cards as they struck the table. Now and then Karl 
would demand a bottle of beer or other liquor, 
which, in response to Frau Deik’s nod, Catherine 
conveyed to him. 

The hours wore bn, and two of the company left 
without altering the course of the gambling and 
drinking, while the two women (knowing each 
others’ thoughts, but prevented from speaking by 
their positions of mistress and maid) sat and longed 
for deliverance from their misery. At last, Frau 
Deik, despairing of an end to the game, rose and 
called Catherine to follow her to bed. 

After they were gone, the luck which had been 
Karl’s, seemed to change. 

‘‘Your luck is over !” cried Wilhelm, mockingly. 

“Quite the contrary,” was the cool response. 
“ Bad luck at play, good luck at love, as they say 
in Berlin, and I ’ll prove it to you here !” 

“ So you flatter yourself,” retiirned Wilhelm, look- 
ing toward the door through which Catherine had 
left. “ But she is a different person. Only, if you 
want to marry — ” 

“ Marry ?” retorted Karl, derisively. 

Wilhelm looked at him in surprise, and Gotthard 
turned pale, and asked threateningly, as he fastened 
his eye upon him : 


i 62 


The Mask of Beauty. 


“ What do you mean ?” 

“ Mean? Why, nothing much !” answered Karl, 
indifferently. “ I only mean that it is idle to talk 
of marrying her ! Who ever heard of a Burger s 
son marrying a servant? But if I want her — I 
have seen others before — Why, in Berlin I never 
failed. But marrying is absurd !” 

Neither of the rejected lovers of Catherine 
answered this speech of the braggart, and resumed 
the game quietly. But they could not fix their 
minds upon what they were doing. Both resented 
the imputations cast upon the girl, and Gotthard, 
especially, distrusted Karl and feared for Catherine’s 
safety. So he proposed to leave, remarking, for 
excuse, that the light was almost extinguished. 

At the door, Gotthard paused significantly, and 
Karl, who was anxious to go to bed, asked im- 
patiently : 

“ What do you want ? Anything ?” 

“ Yes — no !” returned he. 

“Well, hurry out, or I will have to break my 
bones in the dark house !” 

Then Gotthard seized him by the arm, and said 
hastily : 

“ Deik, what is between you and Catherine ?” 

“ Are 3^ou a fool?”*exclaimed Karl, trying to free 
himself, without success. 

Then Gotthard repeated more pressingly : 

“ What do you intend ?” 

“ Nothing ! Nothing at all !” said Karl, repressing 
his anger. “ To prove it, you can ask her j^ourself. 
If I had only chosen, I could have had her long ago !” 


The Mask of Beauty. 


163 


“ Braggart !” 

“ Liar !” cried the two listeners, simultaneously. 

‘‘Will you bet?” returned Karl, showing by the 
last flicker of the lamp an expression of insolence, 
which roused the indignation of the two, who, in 
their respective ways, loved the girl honorably. 
Then Karl laughed loudly, and added : “ Believe 

it or not ! And such a woman you want to marry !” 

“ I bet you no /” cried Gotthard, with fervor. 

“ I bet not, too !” added Wilhelm, quickly. 

“ How much ? How much ?” asked Karl. 

“ What you please !” returned Gotthard. 

But as Karl named no sum and all became more 
composed, presently he said : 

“ Give me three months’ time, and at the end, if 
she has a heart in her body, you will find me suc- 
cessful.” 

This speech was followed by an uproarious 
laugh, which sent a pang to the hearts of his com- 
panions. 

They turned away from him with as much sad- 
ness as if they had just learned of a great misfor- 
tune to themselves or of the death of a beloved 
friend. 


END OF PART FIRST. 



PART SECOND 

CHAPTER L 

Thus the winter passed away, bringing sadness 
to the formerly happy mistress and maid. After 
awhile it was difficult to determine which of the 
two was the more oppressed by the new order of 
things. 

Whenever Frau Deik spoke kindly of Catherine 
in her nephew’s presence, he immediately took oc- 
casion to disparage her without direct complaint. 
And when the old woman, influenced by his scorn, 
would declare that she must send the girl away, 
then he would increase in severity, so that she 
might not suspect his penchant for her. He would 
go on to affirm that Catherine did not know her 
proper place toward her weak mistress, but just let 
~ him marry, and he would show it to her very soon. 

If now and then Frau Deik, incited by his repre- 
- sentations, exercised coldness or unkindness toward 
the poor orphan, he would at once take the defen- 
sive and assert that the girl did wonderfully well, 
considering what an old witch grandmother had 
[1641 


The Mask of Beauty. 


165 


raised her. This idea he freely ventilated among 
the neighbors to accomplish the double purpose of 
frightening off Wilhelm from the girl and showing 
the Burgermeister that a character such as he had no 
notion of marrying her, nor had Frau Deik the 
slightest intention of giving to a strange servant 
any part of his possessions. To thus destroy Herr 
Hoffman’s hopes gave him peculiar delight. 

These wiles and machinations in no way troubled 
the conscience of Karl Deik. He regarded them as 
legitimate, inasmuch as they were designed to pro- 
tect his rights and to rule his aunt. Nor did he 
forget to meditate how he might win his bet. Cath- 
erine’s manners toward him, however, were so 
different from those of his female acquaintances in 
Berlin that he had fears for his success. 

Every glance he threw upon the girl filled him 
with admiration. She was beautiful, indeed — beau- 
tiful enough to turn his head. He could not keep 
his eyes from her when present, nor remove her 
image from his mind when absent. At night he 
dreamed about her. His feeling was mad, fierce 
passion, and being destitute of the tender element, 
angered him for its mastery over him. Beneath 
this emotion lay a deep scorn and contempt for the 
charmer. In former loves he had experienced 
pleasure, but this one only gave pain. When he 
thought he saw the girl show favor to his rival he 
was jealous ; when the contrary, he blamed her for 
fickleness. 

He could not believe that his aunt’s servant 
meant to rebuff him, and attributed her actions to 


1 66 The Mask of Beauty. 


desire to render herself more attractive through 
suspense and delay. 

But how truly had the girl spoken when she 
declared that she hated all men ! And she had 
good cause for her offense, since, with the exception 
of her guardian, the Mayor of Heisternest, and the 
pastor of Hela, all other men she had known had 
caused her trouble. In childhood Christian and 
his comrades had embittered her life and driven 
her to solitude, and when he played the part of 
defender the insult to her was not lessened. But 
since her removal to Hela the attentions of lovers 
had given her no peace or rest. She realized that 
for her men’s love could not be as for other girls 
around her. 

Many a time, when here and there she saw the 
Burger maidens marry and take possession of their 
new homes, she thought how different was her lot. 
For often had Frau Deik, to destroy the childish 
superstitious ideas which she brought from the vil- 
lage, impressed her that she was born for poverty 
and servitude, and must expect disfavor from many 
on account of her grandmother’s unpopularity, for 
her to forget it. Nor had the pastor, made solici- 
tous for her welfare by her uncommon beauty, failed 
to quicken her native self-respect, or to warn her 
against men’s attentions. 

Full corroboration had been given to Frau Deik’s 
assertion of the absurdity of her marrying Wilhelm 
or Gotthard by the cruel attack of the Bur germeister 
and the uncordiality of the lighthouse-keeper’s 
greeting. 


The Mask of Beauty. 


167 


But she did not desire nor receive their advances 
to her on better grounds. There was something in 
Wilhelm’s mode of wooing that repelled instead of 
pleasing her. Nor did Gotthard’s or any other’s 
impress her as they would, had she felt herself in 
position to accept their admiration. 

There were but two things in the wide world 
that the poor orphan could call her own — her honor 
and her good name — and these she vowed to pre- 
serve with utmost care. 

The very efforts made to guide Catherine right 
was a mingled blessing and curse. Instead of 
making her humble, they made her proud. The 
expulsion of the superstitions of childhood brought 
about the belief that she was most singular in cir- 
cumstances, and that there was a spot upon her 
which a righteous life must erase. 

That person who in any way believes himself 
cut off from other mortals loses the right measure 
for everything, even his own wishes and feelings, 
and is given up to self-deception and errors. 

Sometimes, when the alternate accusations and 
attentions of Karl made life dreadful to Catherine, 
she thought seriously of leaving Frau Deik and 
seeking other service. But where could she go? 
She knew that no one in the town would receive 
her, since she was a thorn to the flesh of all the 
women. She could not return to her native village, 
where her friends were no more numerous. Be- 
yond these two pierces was the great unknown 
world, so longed for in innocent childhood, so 
dreaded in wise maturity. Fast on the determina- 


The Mask of Beauty. 


1 68 


tion to leave the house always came loving grati- 
tude toward Frau Deik, and longing to remain with 
her to the last possible moment. When she saw 
how, from day to day, Karl set her aside and wasted 
her substance, and how things were growing from 
bad to worse, there seemed to her a kind of duty 
in remaining faithful to her best friend, if possible, 
to help or protect her from injustice. 

Never had her mistress uttered a complaint 
against Karl to the girl, nor had the girl forgotten 
her position far enough to speak on the subject, 
until one night, when he sat gambling with his 
friends and the two had retired to their room. The 
old woman heaved a deep sigh, as she took off her 
kerchief and white piqu^ cap and covered her gray 
hair with its night covering of yellow cotton. 

Catherine’s sympathy was aroused, and she asked 
gently : 

“ What is the matter ?” 

“ ‘ What is the matter?’ Why, nothing !” replied 
Frau Deik.' But, in a few seconds, she resumed: 
“ When a person is old and has lost his right powers, 
it is better for him to die !” 

“ But you have all of yours !” said the girl, con- 
solingly. “ You are active, eat heartily — ” 

“ Do you think so ?” interrupted the other. “ I 
know better, for if I had my right powers — ” she 
paused as if doubtful, but the desire to express her 
long pent-up feelings conquered, and she resumed, 
as if talking to herself — “ I would not all this year 
have let things go out of my house against my will, 
nor allowed such conduct in my sitting-room as I 


The Mask of Beauty. 


169 


abhor. Once — ” again she ceased, and after some 
minutes returned to her soliloquy. “ If my sainted 
husband only knew ! He would never have per- 
mitted it, nor would I have permitted it then, 
either !” 

The last sentence she said earnestly, as if to do 
herself justice. 

Don’t permit it now !” cried Catherine, involun- 
tarily, as she helped her mistress put on the jacket 
in which she slept. 

Frau Deik either did not or pretended not to 
hear this remark, but silently got into bed and 
drew the curtains, although the light was extin- 
guished. But sleep did not come to her eyelids. 
As the laughs and jests from the revelers came 
from time to time upon her ears, she sighed the 
more heavily and frequently. 

At last Catherine, who could neither rest nor 
repress her sympathy, summoned courage to speak, 
and like every one who has long kept back his 
resentment, spoke more boldly than she intended. 

'' Dear mistress,” she said, “ I can no longer bear 
to see you treated so without expressing my feel- 
ings. Of course I do not speak of myself, for I am 
servant. But to see him act as if you were not here 
— to see him order and use things as if you were 
not mistress of the house, is dreadful ! I have 
thought much about it, and want to go to the pastor 
and tell him how he treats me and yon, who are 
mistress, but — ” 

'' Don’t you dare ! Don’t you dare !” cried Frau 
Deik, threateningly, as she rose in bed, threw aside 


170 


The Mask of Beauty, 


the curtain and looked in the darkness toward the 
place where the girl lay. “ You just wait and see 
what I do.” 

A pause ensued. Catherine did not understand 
what great wrong she had done to rouse her mis- 
tress’s anger to such a pitch. 

PYau Deik valued above everything else the good 
name of her family, and the girl had touched this 
sensitive spot. And, like other people of such 
foolish pride, though her heart was bitter and her 
complaints heavy against her nephew, she forgot 
her own example and even resentment when 
another and a servant dared to bring similar accu- 
sations. Her heart felt a bitterness toward the poor 
offender never before experienced, and for the first 
time she regretted having taken her under her 
roof. 

Presently she said with cruel force : 

“ Catherine, you are mean and ungrateful. To 
think of the poverty and misery from which I res- 
cued you for you to come and try to make a quarrel 
between my nephew and me ! I suppose your 
object is to get some of my property in order that 
you may marry the Burgermeister s son !” 

The girl seemed to be turned to stone during this 
unjust assault. She dared not essay defense of her- 
self, for Frau Deik never allowed contradiction. 
There came over her mind the terror of the ship- 
wreck from whom the last plank is taken. 

Hot tears coursed down her cheeks, and emotion 
such as the drowning man’s filled her heart. She 
felt that, as her mistress had deserted her, life was 


The Mask of Beauty. 


171 


no longer worth living. As the old woman’s anger 
rose, her accusations became more dreadful ; but 
the sufferer silently bore all. 

Next morning when Catherine rose and went to 
work, her mistress vouchsafed no remark to her, 
and although the girl knew her duties, it pained 
her not to hear the usuai “ Do this ” and “ Do that” 
from her. All nature seemed to be clothed in win- 
try darkness instead of warm sunshine to the sad 
orphan. 

When Catherine had left the chamber, Frau Deik 
got up, and, instead of drinking her coffee as usual 
when dressed, placed it before the fire to await the 
tardy appearance of her nephew. 

When that lazy fellow seated himself at the 
breakfast table and saw his aunt place herself op- 
posite, he exclaimed, in surprise : 

“ Haven’t you drunk your coffee yet.^” 

‘‘No,” returned Frau Deik. “ I waited for you, 
because I have something to tell you. Things 
must be changed here — ” 

“ Holy Father !” interrupted he, with sacrilegious 
tone. “ Things must be changed, but not as you 
expect !” 

Frau Deik, though provoked, controlled her feel- 
ings, and said, quite gently : 

“ I am not speaking of you, Karl — not of you, 
although I am overlooked here in my own house. 
I am not speaking of what you take from an old 
woman of that which will soon be your own— I say 
I am not speaking of that.” 

“ It ’s well you don’t !” was the surly reply of the 


172 


The Mask of Beauty. 


nepliei ", while he cut off a slice of bread and cov- 
ered it with butter as slowly as if it was the busi 
ness of life. 

The manner and words were too trying for Frau 
Deik’s equanimity. 

“ Karl,” she cried, as she hastily set down the 
blue-and-white cup lest her trembling hand should 
betray itself, “ you will bring me prematurely to 
the grave ; After I am dead, you can turn the 
house into a tavern and drink and frolic as you will. 
But as long as I live, I will not tell tales on you. 
He who cuts off his nose spoils his face, and I will 
never make my kinfolks the town-talk. I will bear 
anything you do to me, but never will I suffer the 
servant, Catherine, whom I as good as picked up 
off the street, to complain to the pastor of you, as 
she threatens.” 

“ What the devil does the wench mean ?” cried 
Karl, angrily, rising from the table. 

“ I thought you would feel it,” resumed Frau 
Deik, as I did yesterday when she complained of 
you and told me what I suffered from you. But I 
will have no one to dictate to me. I have never 
allowed anybody to dictate to me ! I know very 
well what she wanted to do. Wilhelm and his 
mother have put the foolish notion in her head 
that, if she could make me fall out with you, she 
would get your property, and then she might marry 
Hoffmann. They would like well enough to get 
possession of this house, which the Deiks have 
owned since the town was built ! But I ’ll let them 
see that Deiks and no others shall own it ! May 


The Mask of Beauty. 


173 


God forgive you for your wrongs to me, Karl ! In 
spite of them, here you shall dwell, and nobody 
else ! But Catherine must go away right straight 
or — or I will die !” 

She stopped, out of breath, and turned, expecting 
her nephew to continue the indignation against the 
girl. 

But he stood silent and unmoved. Frau Deik 
viewed his figure in supreme surprise. 

Suddenly he broke out into a loud, malevolent 
laugh, which gave his aunt anything but pleasure. 

“ What are you laughing at ?” asked she. 

At Catherine’s cunning !” he replied. 

Then Frau Deik renewed her attack upon her 
servant, and desired to hear Karl’s opinion as to 
disposing of her. But that person declined to ex- 
press any ideas on the subject, and his indifference 
began to bring Frau Deik to her right senses. As 
her resentment evaporated with her words, she 
beg^an to feel what a sin and wrong she had com- 
mitted against the girl, and to wish she had been 
silent. But, alas, we canot recall the irrevocable 
past, and our words and deeds bring their results 
for weal or woe ! 

As a last resort to evoke Karl’s opinion, she asked : 

‘‘ How shall we contrive to keep her silent ?” 

“ She will not tell, depend upon it !” he answered 
decidedly. “ And she shall go away if you wish it !” 

With these words he left the room. Frau Deik 
remained in the place, where he left her a long 
while, burdened with a guilty conscience and heavy 


cares. 


CHAPTER II. 


Whenever there happens anything to mar or de- 
stroy the trust and peace of member's of the same 
household, it is expected that there will be an im- 
mediate separation of the parties. But difficulties 
can be dealt with discreetly, like cracked pots, and 
thus last a long time. 

And so it was with Frau Deik and Catherine. 
Many days succeeded the eventful night, without 
reference to the unfortunate affair. During this 
time Catherine took care to execute all her mis- 
tress commanded and leave no chance for com- 
plaint. Frau Deik, though she was not cordial as 
formerly, felt compunctions of conscience for her 
conduct, and more than once drew out from her 
chests articles of clothing and gave them to 
her servant. 

Meanwhile, Karl kept quieter. He had fewer 
card-parties, drinkings and late hours, and once or 
twice even went fishing with the others. This 
made both women inclined to believe that their un- 
pleasantness had at least brought good to him. But 
both were afraid to remain together long, lest what 
[174] 


The Mask of Beauty, 


175 


lay so heavy on each heart might involuntarily seek 
expression. 

One Friday in the beginning of July some of the 
men went out very early, fishing, while others re- 
mained on shore till mid-day, busied with the nets 
and other preparations for the fish-haul. 

With the latter party Karl went out in the after- 
noon on the sea. 

Frau Deik had during the week gotten through 
with the washing, and put it carefully away in the 
chests and closets, and now took her accustomed 
seat on the green bench by the door and looked 
proudly toward the Burgermeister' s house and 
others, where all haste was being made to accom- 
plish the same work before the return of the boats. 

The time for the herring-catch had come — the 
most important of the year — during which all atten- 
tion and efforts were directed toward the fish. 

After a little, Catherine, who had finished her 
housework, came out with a plate of greens to dress 
for next day’s dinner, and sat down, as usual, in the 
doorway. 

“ Give them to me,” said her mistress. 

“ But what shall I do ?” asked the girl. 

“ You can go and find some worms and herbs for 
the bird. He needs them,” returned Frau Deik. 

This was no unusual mission for the girl, but to- 
day she knew that her mistress only made excuse 
to get rid of her. 

Frau Deik had owned for years this thrush, and 
gladly bought for it food, as on the sands of the 
vicinity it was difficult to obtain the greens and in- 


176 


The Mask of Beatity. 


sects proper for it. But not seldom had Catherine 
gone out, as to-day, a long distance to procure them. 
She went in for a kerchief, in which to secure the 
food, and started from the door. 

“ Where are you going to get them ?” asked Frau 
Deik. 

“ Near the old church,” said the girl. 

Since the fatal night neither said one word more 
than necessary to the other. 

It was a brave deed to visit the old church so late 
in the day. 

The ruins of the building centuries ago destroyed 
by fire were invested with shadows and uncanni- 
ness. Here and there rose piles of stones, over 
which the sands had blown. The wind had con- 
veyed seeds of trees and grasses from the neighbor- 
ing wood, hence a thick undergrowth covered the 
ground. The voice of nightbirds always came in 
mournful strains from the broken walls. Altogether 
it was a place avoided by all visitors after sundown, 
for the few bold men who passed later than this 
time saw sights of which they could not speak. 
But Catherine was accustomed to getting the bird’s 
food from there, and felt none of the fears that 
characterized her neighbors concerning the lonely 
spot. Indeed, up to this time she had enjoyed the 
experience. She loved to be alone under God’s free 
heaven, and recall the happy days she had spent as 
shepherdess in the woods. But to-day all was dif- 
ferent. The disfavor of her mistress cast a shadow 
over all the world for her — even over nature’s 
beauty. She walked along, scarcely knowing or 


The Ma^k of Beauty. 


177 


caring for anything about her. A heavy load rested 
on her heart that forbade thought of past or future. 
It was such dejection as only one in her condition 
can realize. 

Instead of walking quickly, as usual, her steps 
were .slow, and the way seemed long. Her limbs 
ached from the arduous labors of the past week, and 
the thought of Frau jjeik’s laconic communications 
and Karl’s officious glances hurt her more than 
physical weariness. 

It was clear daylight when she reached her desti- 
nation and sank down tired and sad upon one of 
the hillocks covered with grass and thistles. Here 
she sat a long time, and unconsciously and child- 
ishly amused herself by again and again burying 
her foot in the soft sand. 

The seat was warm from the sun’s rays when she 
sat down, but gradually the coldness of nature 
became apparent. 

Here and there flew an insect from the thicket, 
or a bat emerged from a cleft in the wall. None of 
these things disturbed the girl’s meditations, until 
a feeling of chilliness made itself felt, and gave 
indubitable sign of approaching night. Startled, 
she jumped up and hastily proceeded to seek the 
object of her expedition. 

But the bird’s food recalled the sad truth that her 
mistress loved the bird and did not care for her. A 
feeling of wild jealousy rushed into her heart, which 
she quickly repressed as unjust to the pretty thrush, 
who did no harm and sang so sweetly. 

Love for the bird, which had been her joy and 


178 


The Mask of Beauty. 


care since she came to Hela, gained the victory 
over her melancholy. It was a consolation to pro- 
vide dainty bits for the only living thing in the 
house that was peaceful and happy. 

In the search for worms and herbs, Catherine 
discovered the lilac-bushes filled with white flowers 
and, at their feet, the fragrant roots of camomile. 

With forethought for the household needs, she 
began to pluck both the flowers and the camomile, 
knowing that they retain their best healing qualities 
by being gathered before midsummer, when they 
scatter their powder. 

The sun was long down and the mist rising from 
the sea, when her kerchief was filled with the bird’s 
food and she still gathered the attractive flowers. 
The more she possessed the more she desired, and 
only when she came within the lengthening shadows 
of the old ruins did she realize the late hour and 
the unpleasantness of her position. Fearfully she 
looked around her, and her quick ears caught every 
passing sound. vShe told herself that the one was 
a bat, another the wind rustling the leaves, but 
none the less did she feel alarm. With trembling 
hands she secured her bundle and prepared to leave. 
Suddenly she felt her presumption — her daring in 
remaining so late. She thought of her grandmother 
— of Mathes — of Pinor — of all the dead who might 
seek her in this lonely spot, and, as she quickly rose 
from her knees, she felt herself caught by the 
skirt. 

Uttering a frightened cry, she freed herself from 
the twig and hastened a few steps forward, But 


The Mask of Beauty. 


179 


she paused, rooted to the earth, by the unexpected 
sight of a man’s figure in her way. 

“ Have I got you at last ?” cried he, seizing her 
hand and trying to draw her to him. 

There was no mistaking the figure or voice, and 
no ghostly visitor could have given the poor girl 
such terror. 

“Precious! Where do you come from?” asked 
he, throwing his arm around her waist. “ Did you 
hope to see me ?” 

“ From the old church ! From the old church !” 
ejaculated the girl, trying to free herself from the 
obnoxious embrace. 

“ ‘ From the old church ?’ ” he repeated. “ Did 
you find a pastor there to complain to of me ? Or 
did you ask your grandmother’s spirit to wring my 
neck, as she used to do?” 

“ I gathered food for the bird ! I plucked flowers ! 
I sought herbs !” returned the victim in a voice of 
anguish. 

Karl was greatly amused. In this unexpected 
meeting, both his liking and grudge against th^ 
girl could be satisfied. For many days he had 
almost given up hope of winning his bet. He 
knew that he must either subdue the girl or get 
her from his aunt’s house. But this auspicious 
accident furnished the solution of all his cares, and 
both judgment and inclination united for the ruin 
of the girl. 

He felt an inexpressible delight in hearing the 
hasty, anxious respiration and in feeling the quick 
heart-beats of his unwilling, struggling victim. 


i8o 


The Mask of Beauty. 


“ You have gathered flowers and sought herbs, 
you say?” he went on scornfully. “ In the twilight, 
that is not good.” 

Catherine knew not whether her words were 
credited or not, but each second her alarm grew 
greater. She felt herself drawn closer within his 
arms, and could only gasp : 

“ Leave me ! Leave ! I have always said I hated 
you and all other men ! Let me go !” 

“ Let you go ! Don’t think me such a fool. 
Precious, I am glad to see you. Come ! You love 
twilight, and I love you. Come, let ’s sit down here 
— come — we are alone.” 

With these words, he sank down upon a hillock, 
still holding her by the waist. 

The girl, availing herself of the freedom of her 
arms, tried to thrust him off, and uttered a loud cry 
for help. 

Quickly he sprang up, seized her roughly, and 
laughingly drew her by his side. 

“ Silence, I tell you ! You need not think any 
one will hear you, though,” he added triumph- 
antly after a little, “ for I know no mortal is near, 
and I will not leave you now !” 

But the cry was not in vain. Suddenly came the 
return near by from the side of the nearest village. 

The words “ Here ! Here !” fell like music on 
the ear of Catherine — like curses on the ear of 
Karl. 

The disappointed wretch at once loosened his 
hold of the girl, and, rising from his seat, pulled 
her up, too. 


The Mask of Beauty, 


i8i 


One instant he stood irresolute, and then said 
coldly : 

“ Be sure to come home ! And woe to you if you 
tell a mortal that I found you here in the twilight !” 

The girl had neither inclination nor power to 
speak. She walked away, thankful for deliverance 
and forgetful of her bundles. 

“ Take your cursed things !’ called the fellow 
after her, hastily giving her the two bundles. 

Then he turned away and walked over the white 
sands, lighted by the first beams of the moon. 

When Catherine reached home she had to bear 
the reproaches of Frau Deik for her tardiness. She 
excused herself on the plea of the number of flow- 
ers and roots, which were fatiguing to gather and 
required rest. Her paleness and whole appearance 
corroborated the statement, and her mistress ac- 
cepted the apology. 

When a half-hour had elapsed Karl came into the 
house, and, in Catherine’s presence, said : 

“ There is something wrong about the old church. 
I did not want to believe it, as, in Berlin, such 
things are ridiculed, but this evening I heard a very 
singular thing.” 

“ What ?” asked Frau Deik. 

“ I was coming from the opposite side of it, hav- 
ing gone there to see if it was a good place for lay- 
ing the nets. As I approached, I heard two or 
three loud calls for help. I am satisfied that they 
came from the old church. I answered quickly : 
‘ Here ! Here !’ and ran as quickly as possible to 
the church. There I met another man who had 


i 82 


The Mask of Beauty. 


heard the cry like myself, and there we stood, call- 
ing and looking around, without hearing or seeing 
a living being.” 

Frau Deik listened attentively, and turned to 
Catherine, with the question : 

“ Were you there, Catherine ?” 

“Were you there?” repeated Karl, with a sharp 
intonation, as he looked at her as if for the first 
time in his life. 

The girl turned pale as death, and had to avert 
her eyes from his terrifying presence. 

“ Did you hear anything ?” asked he, as quietly 
as his aunt could have done. 

The girl silently left the room. 

Frau Deik, remarking her strange conduct, said : 

“ Catherine returned late and seemed troubled by 
something. I wonder if she saw or heard any- 
thing?” 

“ Returned late !” said Karl, meaningly. “ Who 
knows what she did see or hear? Her mouth may 
only be closed. Indeed, Christian — the man who met 
me — said that things were not here as they used to 
be. Something is wrong.” 

“ What Christian do you mean ? The son of the 
mayor?” said Frau Deik, to whom the name sug- 
gested other thoughts. 

“ Yes. He got back day before yesterday from a 
voyage to Brazil.” 

“ Is he going again ?” she asked. 

“ I believe so, but am not certain. Sometimes he 
speaks one way, sometimes another. He seems to 
be in trouble about something. He said the voice 


The Mask of Beauty, 183 


wliicli cried for help seemed familiar to him, and he 
took it for a bad sign. He asked after Catherine, 
and told me h: ^ she shared her grandmother’s power 
of telling when any one was going to die in the 
village. Once he said she told him that she had 
seen an old man who was dead appear at the win- 
dow and call her grandmother away. Who knows 
but what she saw this evening has caused her 
strange conduct? Such things when once believed 
are never forgotten.” 

Foolishness ! All foolishness !” returned Frau 
Deik, wishing to sustain before her nephew the 
reputation for good sense which the pastor had 
given her. “ It is a positive sin and shame to think 
of such things and — ” 

“ Think or not think, just as you choose,” inter- 
rupted Karl rudely, “ but I have my eyes open ! 
Something is wrong about Catherine. Wilhelm 
and Gotthard are dead in love with her, and even I, 
though she is a thorn in my — ” 

Frau Deik was all attention, and asked with great 
interest : 

“ What about you ?” 

Nothing much,” returned he. “ The woman is 
a thorn in my flesh, and yet somehow I can’t get 
her out of my head, day or night. And this is when 
she looks too innocent to count three, and will not 
receive the attention of anybody openly. But often 
I think there must be some one she favors, and 
when you said just now that she frequently went to 
the old church to gather herbs I had suspicions. 
What does she get ?” 


184 


The Mask of Beauty, 


'‘Why, food for the bird, of course,” retorted 
Frau Deik, though there was a certain uneasiness 
in her tone. 

"Bird’s food ! Bird’s food !” cried Karl, incredu- 
lously. " There are better places for that !” 

The old woman did not reply to this. The man 
drank his beer and turned to leave the room., but as 
he caught the half-murmured words of his aunt, 
" Catherine always does go to the old church for 
the bird’s food,” he answered, ere he closed the 
door : 

" Who knows what she seeks and finds there ?” 




CHAPTER III. 

During the night the three inmates of the house 
were busy with thoughts, and sleep fled from their 
eyelids. But morning found them without deter- 
mined conclusions. 

Rash conclusions are the result of strong passion 
or of rapid reflection or of lively imagination, and 
characterize people who are accustomed to change 
of circumstances. But ignorant, country people, 
who have remained in the same place for genera- 
tions, from father to son, show a kind of inertness 
of reflection or thought and a certain helplessness 
as to decision. Should the affairs of to-day be 
thrown out of their groove, they have no remedy 
prepared for the morrow. 

Frau Deik and Karl were interested in getting 
rid of Catherine, but could lay no plan to accom- 
plish their desire. 

But the girl, herself, had decided to avail herself 
of the pastor’s offer to help her to a new position 
when, by any cause, she wanted to leave her mis- 
tress, Frau Deik. The cause was now so great that 
she could not longer stay under the roof. She 
planned to seek him the following Sunday after- 

[185] 


The Mask of Beauty. 


1 86 


noon and, candidly, lay before him how Karl had 
prejudiced her mistress against her, and how, there- 
fore, she wanted to go far away from Hela, where 
no one knew of her grandmother nor could re- 
proach her with the poor woman’s character. To 
suffer such injustice, as she did, made her wish 
for the arts attributed to her grandmother, by 
which she might revenge herself upon the perse- 
cutors ; but, knowing this feeling to be sinful, she 
earnestly desired the pastor to aid her in getting 
far away from temptation. 

Frau Deik was no less bent upon sending Cath- 
erine from her house, but her place was too im- 
portant in the household to be left vacant. She 
thought of all the girls she could possibly get in 
her place and rejected them as unsuitable. One 
was too old — another too young — another too cun- 
ning — another too simple. She was bent upon not 
getting another pretty girl, though she hated ugly 
people in her sight ! But all these considerations 
were least. Her greatest objection was to have a 
stranger enter the house and learn and tell about 
the relations of Karl and herself. 

These thihgs Catherine knew, but would not tell. 
Every drawer of the shop, saucepan of the kitchen 
or nail on the walls the girl knew also, and used 
to their right purpose with the overseeing eye of 
herself, and it would be long before her substitute 
could as completely relieve the mistress of the house 
of all responsibility and labor. Besides, the old 
woman was remorseful for charging Catherine with 
her grandmother’s supposed arts, and the future of 


The Mask of Beauty. 


187 


the orphan lay heavy on her heart. In her dire 
perplexity and trouble, she decided to seek advice 
from the pastor. She trusted that he would con- 
trive some way to remove the girl from her house 
without exciting the wonder and gossip of the 
neighbors. No one must suspect the unpleasant- 
ness between her nephew and her servant, as the 
idea would be an impediment to Karl’s procuring 
the proper wife among the Burger girls and pre- 
vent Catherine’s finding another situation. She 
was too proud to reveal to the pastor the thoughts 
Karl had put into her head about the girl’s visits to 
the old church. Thereby would she have forfeited 
the high opinion entertained of her by the pastor and 
communicated to others by him. So she decided to 
interview him the following Sunday morning after 
church, and abide by his advice in the matter. 

The time passed slowly away, meantime. She 
did not like to lose sight of either nephew or ser- 
vant, and as her trust in both was destroyed, she 
felt, more keenly than ever before, the bitterness 
of her childless widowhood. 

It could not be said that Karl was irresolute, but 
only baffled in the matter. He had spoken with 
truth when he told his aunt that Catherine had be- 
witched him. His impatient longing, his anger 
and vexation toward her were terrible. Add to 
these his anxiety to win his bet, his concern lest 
Frau Deik might relent and his fear lest the girl 
might reveal what he feared to be known, united in 
producing a bitterness of heart toward the girl, 
which daily grew stronger. 


i88 


The Mask of Beauty. 


He vowed that, if he could not secure her fcr 
himself, he would keep her from his rivals ; he 
swore that if she would not be his in the house of 
Frau Deik, she should leave Hela with such a char- 
acter as to prevent the desire of any lover to fol- 
low her. 

And yet he was puzzled how to accomplish his 
desire. He could not attack her honor without im- 
plicating himself, and to lose his standing in the 
town was the last thing he could bring himself to 
suffer. Nor could he find any fault with her dis- 
charge of domestic duties in his aunt’s house. 

In the midst of his meditations memory of the 
impression made upon Frau Deik’s mind by hi", 
remarks about Catherine’s secret arts came to him 
as a revelation. Along with this recurred the for- 
tunate meeting with Christian near the old church, 
and his explanation of a ghost being the source of 
Catherine’s cry for help. He seemed to see the 
way made clear for convicting his victim. But 
suddenly the unpleasant truth intruded itself that 
to substantiate his assertions he must cite some 
actual event, which he could not give. To gradu- 
ally spread the report would not be possible, as 
thereby he must incur the opposition of both the 
pastor and his aunt, and gain a reputation for less 
enlightenment than befitted his three years’ resi- 
dence in Berlin. 

So the day passed without a decision, and his 
state of mind was not improved by the frequent 
sight of Catherine. He could not bear her glances 
of scorn and misery, and feared always that she 


The Mask of Beauty 


189 


might speak against him. And withal her intensi- 
fied beauty robbed him of his senses. The sight 
of her, coupled with the ill-humor of Frau Deik, 
made him so uncomfortable that he could not remain 
longer in the house. It was Saturday morning, the 
busiest day of the week in the trade, and Frau 
Deik after her nephew’s departure sent Catherine 
to work in the garden, while she remained in the 
house. Every cottage possessed a small garden, 
and they lay side by side a short way from Hela. 

The sun shone down quite hot in spite of the 
early hour of day, and groups of women were every- 
where at their agricultural employments. Cather- 
ine, with her head covered by a white kerchief and 
a basket by her side, was kneeling and planting 
cabbages, when a shadow fell across the ground, 
and looking up, she saw before her a tall, stout 
sailor. He wore his varnished hat with careless 
ease on the back of his head, his neck bared and 
his neckcloth loose. He looked like a person who 
was thoroughly satisfied with himself, and yet he 
could not at this moment articulate a word. Cath- 
erine recognized him at once, and without an 
expression of surprise, or even rising from her 
knees, said : 

“ Where did you come from ?” 

“ Just from home,” he answered. 

“ How long have you been back ?” 

Just three days. I wanted to see you and learn 
how you get on.” 

“ You see how I get on !” returned the girl, bend- 
ing again over the earth and proceeding to plant 


190 


The Mask of Beauty. 


the cabbages, which must be finished before mid- 
day. 

He watched her rapid work. 

Both were silent, for their hearts were heav)^ 
The illiterate, in times of great emotion and ex- 
treme necessity, feel the bitterness of the absence 
of language to express themselves, while the edu- 
cated equally appreciate the privilege and use it 
for their relief. 

Christian stood by the hedge, meditating what he 
should say, in vain. At last, Catherine asked : 

Where have you been all these years ?” 

“Yes,” he replied, without answering her query, 
“ I have been away four years !” Then he added 
quickly: “You have grown up entirely in the 
time !” 

“ That 's no wonder !” said Catherine. “ But 
where have you been?” 

This time he was led into the right line and, 
after a minute’s hesitation, returned : 

“ ‘ Where have I been ?’ I have been to England 
and Sweden, and to Brazil twice. During the time 
I spent one day at home. I had to hurry back, 
because we were loaded.” 

“ Will you stay at home now?” she asked. 

“ My people will not hear of it.” 

She nodded her head as a sign that she thought 
this natural. 

After another pause, he said : 

“ I am willing enough, but I ought to go in the 
army.” 

Catherine again looked up from her work and said : 


The Mask of Beauty, 


191 


“ Why?” 

The question seemed to embarrass him and, at 
the same time, her glance to bewitch, for, after a 
little, he said : 

“ Over there in Brazil they are all black, but not 
at all like you !” 

She turned from him in silence. Neither was a 
child any longer, nor failed to understand each 
other's thoughts. 

Christian, taking encouragement from her silence, 
moved along the fence toward the gate. But Cath- 
erine, guessing his purpose, cried : 

“ Stay out there !” and he obeyed. 

Again a long silence ensued, broken, as before, 
by ^he girl’s saying : 

“ When are you going back ?” 

“ Not for some time,” he replied. 

Meanwhile, Catherine finished the planting, 
emptied the basket, wiped her hands on her 
apron, and gathered, from a neigboring bed, some 
salad for dinner. Then she left the garden, and 
no sooner had the gate closed behind her than 
Christian was by her side. Proximity seemed to 
give him courage. He walked by her, until out of 
hearing of the women in the gardens, and said 
abruptly : 

I only came here on your account. If you are 
tired of living with Frau Deik and want to come 
back to the village, I will give up the seafaring life. 
Trust me for the thing being carried through. If 
they will not receive me with you, they need not 
receive me at all, and I will make house and home 


192 


The Mask of Beauty, 


be where you will. I don’t ask any one to approve 
of me. I came here to-day only to see you, and you 
know it. Only tell me at once what you will 
answer.” 

This plain, honorable wooing surprised the girl. 
She looked into the earnest eyes of her lover, and 
his faith and love moved her. 

This impression did not escape Christian’s notice, 
and to strengthen it he said : 

“ No one shall ever do you harm in the village if 
you go back with me.” 

But this assurance produced a very different 
effect from what the young man hoped. The girl 
answered, with that passion which he had often 
seen her exhibit : 

“ To the village, never !” 

He did not contradict her, for the discipline of 
the ship had taught him silence, besides her earnest 
tone and his difficulty of expression. 

She knew that she had wounded him, but could 
not think how to mitigate the blow. When they 
had nearly reached the town he said : 

“ Catherine, consider !” 

“ I will never goback to the village,” she repeated 
firmly. 

“ I mean well by you,” said he earnestly. 

“ I believe it,” she answered. “ But I have always 
suffered for what I did not do. In the village I 
mUvSt be reproached for my grandmother, and here 
it is no better. Therefore I want to go far away 
from the island, where no one knows me. Nobody 
here likes me, and day by day 1 like the people less. 


The Mask of Beatity, 


193 


All confidence in me is destroyed, and I must 
leave !” 

These words were spoken in a short, dry manner, 
as if the speaker had long been used to bear the 
suffering. 

The young sailor came nearer and said in a voice 
of more emotion than formerly : 

“ But suppose I promise to keep everybody away 
from you ?” 

“ Then the dead will come — grandmother, Mathes 
and I know not who else. Sometimes I don’t know 
where my head is, or what’s in it, and — ” She sud- 
denly broke off, as if recalled to prudence, and only 
after a pause resumed, with evident victory over her- 
self : '‘You mean honorably by me, and I think would 
carry out your design. But when a woman prom- 
ises to marry a man she must do so with heartiness 
and good will. That I cannot do. Just to think of 
it gives me dread. Sometimes I fear a curse rests 
upon me, because my grandmother liked no one and 
no one her.” 

Christian listened to her with silent wonder. 
But when the girl perceived what a strange impres- 
sion her words made upon the young man, she was 
encouraged to continue in the same strain. The 
tendency was deeply rooted in her nature to talk of 
the mysteries of superstition. By her grand- 
mother’s teachings, the events of the previous 
evening and the reference to her own wrongs, her 
mind and tongue reverted to the subjects forbidden 
by the pastor and Frau Deik with a strange vehe- 
mence. 


194 


The Mask of Beauty, 


“ If the dead do come back — and I believe they 
do, though the pastor does not think I saw Mathes 
that night — then I wish my grandmother would 
come back ! Many a night I have lain in bed and 
called and wept for her, because there are some — 
there is one here — whom I want to punish for 
treating me ill !” 

“ Catherine, don’t speak so !” begged Christian, 
trying by the sound of his voice to rid himself of 
the unpleasant influence of the girl’s words. 

“ Why not ?” she cried, with her cheeks blushing 
and eyes flashing. “ Why not ? I have nothing 
against you ! Is any one a worm, to be trodden 
under foot without opposition ? It is written in the 
Bible (and you and I have learned it) : ‘ An eye for 
an eye, a tooth for a tooth !’ He who wrongs me 
I wish to harm, and, if wishing — ” 

Again she abruptly ceased, frightened by the 
vindictiveness of her own thoughts, and, turning 
to her companion, asked : 

“ Where will you go to enlist ?” 

“ In the infantry at Dantzig !” he answered 
absently. 

The two had reached the back door of Frau 
Deik’s kitchen, and, stopping at the step, the lover 
said earnestly : 

“ Remember, I mean honorably by you ! Will 
you or will you not ?” 

“ I will not !” returned Catherine, quite as de- 
cidedly. “ I wish to go far away from here ! Leave 
me in peace ! I will be glad to be alone ! My 
grandmother was always alone, and she had peace !” 


The Mask of Beauty, 


195 


“ God help you then !” cried Christian. “ Karl 
Deik was right, and I am sorry I spoke to you thus. 
But I know you will remember me kindly, and that 
is something ! Good-by !” 

With these words he turned on his heel. 

“ Good-by !” called Catherine after him, and 
entered the kitchen. 

A few steps from the door the young man paused 
and looked back. But there was nothing to reward 
his trouble. 

Angry with all mankind as well as herself, the 
girl had hastily closed the door and gone to her 
work. 




CHAPTER IV. 

Next morning was Sunday, and nearly every one 
in Hela went to church. Catherine utilized the 
absence of Frau Deik to clean the house and dress 
herself for the intended afternoon visit to the pastor. 

On the street no sounds were heard save the tones 
of the church organ and the occasional raising of 
windows in the various dwellings. It was a lovely 
day, when sea and land were bathed in golden light 
and grateful warmth. A few boats were lying on 
the beach, and some men were stationed on the 
projections of the land to watch for the expected 
fishing fleet. Two whole days had the scouts been 
at their posts without a sign of the desired sight, 
when suddenly, just as the pastor left the chancel, 
and the concluding hymn was begun, the loud cry of 
“ They come ! They come !” resounded at the 
church door, and was re-echoed by this and that 
one in the congregation. 

Simultaneously, as if by enchantment, books were 
closed, singing stopped, and men and women hast- 
ened from the house toward their respective 
dwellings. 

In a few seconds the organ was silent and the 
church closed, while outside life and excitement 
r iq61 


The Mask of Beauty. 


197 


reigned. Men hastily exchanged their Sunday 
garments for work-clothes, and young and old par- 
took of food prepared with utmost expedition and 
betook themselves to the beach. 

Frau Deik and Karl left the house, the former 
for the pastor’s home, the latter for the strand, and 
Catherine was directed to repair to the water as 
soon as she had washed up the dinner vessels. 

It was one o’clock by the church clock when the 
girl turned from the door toward the sea. The sun 
had become obscured by heavy, gray clouds, and the 
air was sultry. No breeze was perceptible, and the 
water was smooth as glass. Thereby thQ moving, 
flashing line of herrings was visible on the surface 
of the sea. In wide circles flocks of seagulls shot 
above the nets, and now and then darted down to 
seize their prey of small fish. On the shore every 
one was waiting. The women sat in groups upon 
their tubs and buckets, and near by the Biirger- 
nieistcr, the school-teacher and several other men 
exempt from service by age were jesting with a 
number of girls. 

“ Look there !” cried the Bur germeister^ who, when 
he pleased, could be agreeable enough. “ Look 
there ! Don’t you see something swimming on the 
water ?” 

The girls mentioned the boats, the nets, the sea 
gulls and, finally, the men as the objects indicated, 
but the old man shook his head in negation. 

“Look again!” he said. “Right so — now 
Don’t you see anything now?” 

“ No ! No I” cried they in chorus. 


198 


The Mask of Beauty. 


“ What a world ! Such young folks without eyes !” 
laughed Herr Hoffmann. “ See there ! That means 
for many a marriage and cradle ! We will have a 
good catch ! Many herrings, many marriages, many 
children always go together m the mind.” 

He was first to laugh at his own wit, and the girls 
did not fail to follow. 

One of the number — who was neither the youngest 
nor prettiest, and who was thought to have designs 
upon Wilhelm — stuck her arms under her blue 
apron, so as to resemble a child in swaddling 
clothes, and said scornfully : 

“ Some .people here will marry well, for whom 
no herrings are caught, unless they are prevented. 
They know how to carry out their purpose — this or 
that.” 

During this .speech she cast her eyes significantly 
upon Catherine, who was leaning against a post 
near by and looking toward the approaching boat. 

The spiteful words did not escape the one for 
whom intended, and dryly and defiantly came the 
answer : 

“ If I could carry out my wish, certain people 
here should have a tail of a herring !” 

The girl shrank before the scorn and anger of 
the look which accompanied these words. 

Who was thinking of you ?” answered she. 
“ And why do you take notice of what I say, when 
I don’t attack you ?” 

Catherine opened her lips to reply, but restrained 
herself. The proximity of the boat, which should 
receive the finst net, occupied the attention of 


The Mask of Beauty. 


199 


every one, and prevented the thought of lesser 
things. 

Already was the net raised by strong hands aloft, 
and breathless interest followed the industrious 
workers in skiffs around the boat. Shouts and 
cries resounded on the air when the whole burden 
of the net was safely deposited in the large re- 
ceptacle prepared, and with quick strokes of oars 
the boats were landed. 

Then, indeed, great haste and excitement pre- 
vailed. Every one wanted to take part in the dis- 
position of this first haul, the largest gotten in 
many years. The capacious boat was full to the 
brim of silver-shining fish, and with deft fingers 
did the laborers fill their* buckets to get the craft 
emptied for the next net. Pleasure beamed upon 
the countenances of young and old, as they dis- 
posed of the fortunate catch. Life and animation, 
jest and mirth characterized the scene. The Burger- 
meisters wit found frequent response among the 
contented laborers. Meantime, no one noticed that 
the clouds had become thicker, the air more oppres- 
sive and the sea more like lead. 

In a short time a second and third net were 
brought in and relieved of their rich freight of her- 
rings. Only two more were yet expected — a large 
one, in which Frau Deik had interest, and a smaller 
one, the property of several other citizens. The 
people hoped most from these outmost boats, be- 
cause of the position of the herring shoal. So Frau 
Deik placed herself nearest the water with others 
interested, and near her was the girl who had 


200 


The Mask of Beauty, 


maliciously attacked Catherine. She was smiling 
complacently, because Wilhelm had addressed a few 
pleasant attentions to her. Pleasure makes the 
young jolly, and, in such times of excitement, many 
things are allowed inconsistent with quiet, every- 
day life. Thus, many agreeable fellows, in passing 
stole kisses or embraces from maidens without ob- 
servation from elders or opposition from victims 
more than reproachful glances of the eye. 

Wilhelm, Gotthard and even Christian were 
among the most conspicuous of such gallants. 
Their rough jokes and familiarities served as re- 
freshment to hearts during active labors, as drinks 
of whisky revive weary bodies. 

Only one of all the girls resented and repulsed 
the unseemly advances of the young men, and, nat- 
urally, her conduct aroused anger. 

“ Catherine has forsworn laughter !” cried Wil- 
helm to Gotthard, loud enough for her to hear him. 
“ bhe is just like a fence-pole to us. But let Karl 
come, and I bet she will smile quickly enough !” 

“Yes,” replied Gotthard, carried away by jeal- 
ousy; “he has applied his knowledge gained in 
Berlin to good purpose. But it would make her 
lover smile to think of her standing here with us so 
sad.” 

Frau Deik caught these words and looked around 
indignantly. Catherine noted her action, and, with 
the blood surging into her cheeks, exclaimed angrily: 

“ Neither Herr Deik nor any one of you has 
cause to smile when you think of me, as surely as 
there is a God in heaven or justice on earth !” 


The Mask of Beauty. 


201 


The forcible language in which her contradiction 
of the young men’s declaration was clothed drew 
the notice of all bystanders to them, and was about 
to turn the popular tide against Wilhelm. 

But this Frau Hoffman could not suffer. 

“ Hush your mouth,” she cried, “ and don’t take 
the blessed Lord’s name on your lips ! If I ain’t 
sharp, I never know what is happening ! To think 
of your setting men to betting and looking all the 
time as innocent as a new-born babe !” 

Catherine did not reply. She put the basket she 
carried on the ground, with a confused idea of the 
heavy disgrace brought upon her. 

But Frau Deik was not the woman to stand this. 

“ Pray, Frau Hoffmann, of what do you accuse 
my servant ?” she said. 

The distinguished Berlin gentleman should 
know,” returned the other, delighted to have the 
opportunity of venting her spite against Frau 
Deik’s nephew, who had caused her so much 
trouble. 

“ What do you mean ?” angrily retorted Frau 
Deik. “ Who has bet and about what? I W//know 
what happens in my own house !” 

“ That shall not stay concealed,” returned Frau 
Hoffman quickly. “ They bet that — ” 

“ Nothing at all!” put in Wilhelm. Don’t mind 
what mother says ! ” 

“ Look ! They land !” cried Gotthard, almost 
.simultaneously. 

Thus the attention of all was turned from the 
dispute to the more important business of fishing. 


202 


The Mask of Beauty. 


But before the landing was made Catherine ran 
to the water’s edge, tripped upon the plank laid 
from the boat to the shore, and pausing before 
Karl, said with passionate haste : 

“You have spread a slander on me ! You wish 
to bring me to shame ! But take care lest I tell on 
you, and woe to you if I do !” 

She could not have chosen a less favorable moment 
for her threat. 

Karl was in the worst humor possible. The fish- 
haul had been, contrary to expectation, of the 
lightest nature, and the chagrin of the man was 
proportionately great. The girl who had before 
maligned Catherine, observing the two facts and 
her threatening action toward the man, hastened 
up and cried : 

“ Catherine has done it ! She caused both boats 
to come back empty. Burger ineister 3x16. every- 

body else heard her wish us harm — both you and 
us — until our blood ran cold.” 

Just here Wilhelm and Gotthard came forward 
and demanded to know what had happened. But 
their manner, added to the girl’s accusation, only 
served to lash to fury Karl’s temper, already moved 
by the unfortunate catch and Catherine’s public 
defiance. 

With the demoniacal celerity with which under 
such excitement mortals review entangled affairs 
and seize upon the most striking and effective signs 
as the most desirable of all, he cried, as he aimed a 
blow at Catherine : 

“ Curse you ! A witch, that makes all the men in 


The Mask of Beauty, 


203 


town run after you for naught, and then comes 
here to spoil the fish catch ! You shall — ” 

Let her go !” cried Gotthard, trying to free the 
girl’s arm from her enemy’s strong grasp. 

But Catherine exercised her own power to rid 
herself of persecutor and defender, and wildly 
shrieked : 

“ Dare none of you to touch me, or you shall see 
what will happen — what I will do ! I can bear this 
no longer 




CHAPTER V. 

With these words she turned to the front of the 
boat and placed her foot upon the plank leading to 
the shore ere she knew that Karl was pursuing her. 
No sooner did she realize his proximity than she 
sprang into the water, which here was shallow and 
smooth. Quicker than a flash the man was beside 
her, and seized her by the arm. This unusual sight 
brought a crowd of spectators. Work was forgotten 
in the agreeable prospect of witnessing the orphan’s 
discomfiture. Frau Deik was filled with indigna- 
tion, but in vain called upon the two to return to 
the beach. Then she appealed to the Biir germeister 
to restore quiet and peace by his authority. But 
just at this time that august person was superin- 
tending the unloading of the boats and excused 
himself from the requested exercise of his preroga- 
tive. The truth was that he knew this scandal 
would forever put an end to Wilhelm’s hopes of 
marrying the girl, and he was indifferent to her 
otherwise. 

As he did not check Karl’s wrath, the noise and 
excitement became by degrees greater. Frau Hoff- 
mann was loudly declaring that she had long be- 
[204] 


The Mask of Beauty. 


205 


lieved things were not right with the girl ; another 
was complaining that people had left work when a 
storm was brewing ; a third that the catch was so 
cursed small : and everywhere arose cries and up- 
braidings. But, above all the confused sounds, the 
vindictive tones of Karl were heard : 

“ Have you, cursed witch, caused the small catch ? 
Did you wish me ill-luck ?” 

“ Yes ! Yes ! Yes !” cried Catherine, wildly and 
joyfully. “ From the bottom of my heart and with 
all my power, I have bewitched you !” 

These words were instantly followed by a trium- 
phant glance and a clear, ringing laugh that sounded 
unearthly. 

“ Alas ! Alas !’' came in the voice of Christian 
from the crowd. “ Catherine, calm yourself !” 

The protest seemed but to increase the flame of 
defiance. As the crowd pressed harder upon her, 
she repeated with a happy light in her eyes : 

“ Yes, I have bewitched him ! And now I need 
not be a worm for every one to trample under 
foot !” 

“ A witch ! A witch resounded from many 
mouths at once. 

Some wanted to attack — others to escape her. In 
the midst of the wild excitement, Wilhelm and 
Gotthard attempted to defend the victim of public 
wrath, but their action only made matters worse. 
Suddenly, Christian cried in a voice loud enough 
to override the questions and shrieks of the women : 

“ The trouble is with the necklace and earrings, 
which her grandmother bewitched! Tear them 


2o6 


The Mask of Beauty, 


from her ! vShe is honorable — she is good — she has 
done no harm !” 

Hastily pressing through the crowd, he reached 
her side and snatched the coral chain from her 
neck. But as he attempted also to remove the ear- 
rings, Catherine, by a powerful effort, broke through 
the mass of humanity and ran like a maniac toward 
the town. 

At this very instant, a flash of lightning illumin- 
ated the sky, and the waters of the sea were 
moved by the first demonstration of the imminent 
.storm. 

“Stop her! Stop her!” entreated Frau Deik, 
trying to follow herself, and fearful lest the unju.st 
treatment might drive the girl to desperation. 

Possessed by a similar alarm, Christian and Gott- 
hard hastened after her, while Wilhelm was only 
kept back by his mother’s strenuous efforts. 

Frau Deik’s entreaty was, however, understood 
very differently by the crowd of women and chil- 
dren from whom the victim had escaped ; but, while 
they were summoned to make up for lost time in 
rapid labor, and while Karl was venting the rest of 
his passion in relating the many evidences he had 
observed of his aunt’s servant being a witch, Cath- 
erine, followed by friends and enemies and greeted 
by rolls of thunder, accomplished the short distance 
to the town and reached the pastor’s house. 

The pastor had a visitor from Dantzig. This was 
a young officer whom he had once taught, and who 
had come to spend a few weeks with him for the 
renewal of plea.sant associations, as well as the ad- 


The Mask of Beauty. 


207 


vantage of sea-bathing. Early in the afternoon the 
friends had walked on the beach to watch the novel 
sight of the fish business, but the threatening sky 
had soon driven them back. They now sat in the 
sitting-room of the pastor’s wife, who had laid aside 
her sewing in order to watch with them the storm 
rising with such grandeur and fury over land and 
sea. The zigzag lightning, tearing the dark 
clouds, cast glints of light o’er the waters and re- 
vealed their rapidly increasing disturbance to cor- 
roborate the testimony of their booming sounds 
against the shores. They were speaking of the 
severity of the weather, in spite of which the fish- 
ermen must remain to secure the fish -catch, since 
they had not finished before its outbreak, when the 
latch of the front door was violently rattled, a 
frightened cry was heard in the hall, the room-door 
was thrown open, and Catherine fell breathless at the 
feet of the pastor’s wife. 

She was deathly pale, and her black hair fell fiow- 
ing over her shoulders, her kerchief and comb 
being lost in the recent struggle and race. Her 
eyes glanced wildly around, and her lips moved 
without uttering a sound. A perfect picture of de- 
spair and discomfiture, the girl was none the less 
beautiful. 

“ Catherine, for God’s sake, tell us what has hap- 
pened !” cried the pastor. 

“ Get up ! What ’s the matter ! Speak !” said his 
wife, almost simultaneously. 

But before she could obey, a great noise was 
heard without, and the next instant several persons. 


208 


The Mask of Beauty. 


among whom was Karl, regardless of the preacher’s 
private rights, burst open the room-door. 

“ They come ! They come !” gasped Catherine, 
and as she recognized her persecutor, she added, 
with vehemence: “Yes — yes! I bewitched him, 
and I thank the Lord that He has at last heard my 
prayer ! Now do to me what you will 1” 

At once the pastor understood the whole affair, 
and turned to ask his wife to remove the girl from 
the room. But that trouble was unnecessary, as 
the young officer had already approached the girl, 
placed himself before her to protect her from 
molestation, and, as he saw she had fainted away, 
quietly raised and carried her into the adjoining 
room, whose door was opened by the sympathetic 
hostess. 

No sooner was this done than the good pastor 
turned upon Karl, and demanded, with superior 
dignity, the meaning of his unseemly conduct. 

Rapidly and confusedly, like every one who wants 
to make his cause good while under the influence 
of passion, he brought his complaints against Cath- 
erine. 

He spoke of the evil reports concerning her 
grandmother, then of the poor fish -catch, and then 
of her bewitching him. He related how he and 
Wilhelm and Gotthard all wanted to marry the 
girl, but she had refused them with the declaration 
that she could not bear men in her sight. He knew, 
thereby, that she was not what was right, for a poor, 
upright girl — without relations or friends — was al- 
ways thankful to God for a husband ! People had 


The Mask of Beauty. 


209 


always said that a woman who could not like men 
was in league with the devil, and to-day the thing 
had been proved by her declaring that she had 
bewitched the fish-catch. The nets had been a 
hundred-weight heavy — more like a whale was there 
than herrings — but when drawn up, they had been 
found nearly empty. He ended by declaring that 
Christian, of Heisternest, had said that she had in- 
herited the bad characteristic from her grandmother 
along with the jewels, and he thought that the girl 
should be brought out and made to surrender them. 

Before his angry complaint was finished, the 
strange officer reentered the room, and, no sooner 
had it ended, than he said to the pastor : 

“ The girl is delirious, and cannot be soothed !” 

Karl, thinking these words were meant to cor- 
roborate his plea, cried : 

Delirious or not, she is a witch ! I am a soldier 
retired from service ! I am a militia-man, and — ” 

“ You, a soldier?” was the cutting reply. “ And 
in such a moment you boast of yourself ?” 

Karl was struck by the manner and tone of the 
young man, betraying his rank and familiarity with 
giving military orders. But, gathering himself for 
defiance, he answered : 

“ Who are you, sir, to address me in this way?” 

I am an officer in the Fourth Infantry Regiment 
of Dantzig,” was the quiet reply of the other, ap- 
proaching him with a dignity not consistent with 
his youthful figure. 

Karl was for an instant silenced, and involuntarily 
assumed proper posture. But realizing that his 


2 lO 


The Mask of Beauty, 


silence would imply acknowledgment of his guilt, 
he rashly and angrily said : 

“ I don’t retract a single word, lieutenant, for 
lieutenant you are ! Not a word ! And I am not 
the only one who has declared this woman a 
witch. There stands Christian, who knew her in 
Heisternest as a child. All around are others who 
know it. If necessary, I might swear — ” 

“ Mind what you say, Deik !” put in the pastor, 
earnestly. 

But instead of the warning having the intended 
effect of silencing Karl, it only brought others to 
sustain his statement. A murmur of voices sud- 
denly arose. This one brought a new accusation 
against the girl, that one a proof of her witchcraft, 
and soon many were demanding the summons of 
the offender to explain herself or else her deliver- 
ance to the court of justice of Putzig. One of the 
women was even so bold as to cry out that the 
witch should be thrown into the sea, and by her 
swimming prove that Satan aided her. 

At this point Frau Deik appeared on the scene, 
and breathlessly fell on the nearest seat. She had 
walked too rapidly for her old limbs, and showed 
great fright and anxiety in her honest countenance. 

“ Where is she ? Where is she ?” cried she to the 
pastor, and as he indicated by a movement of the 
head, she folded her hands on her lap, drew a long 
breath and exclaimed : “ God be thanked ! And He 
is my witness — by my own word of honor — that 
Catherine was an honorable girl in my house. And 
whoever denies it — ” (this was said with extreme 


The Mask of Beauty. 


'll 1 


emotion) “ whoever undertakes to deny it, I here 
before his face tell him he has lied, even though he 
be my own flesh and blood !” 

Karl tried to interrupt her, but she resolutely 
continued : 

“ Let me speak ! I have borne from you silently 
enough — borne it because I didn’t want other people 
to know our troubles. But not one single quiet 
hour have we had, neither I nor the poor girl, since 
you came home. And so sly have you been about 
it as to make me gradually distrust the girl, who 
never once gave me a contradiction. Catherine — ” 
“ What of Catherine and me ?” interrupted Karl, 
“and what have I done to — ” 

“ Silence !” was the stern response. “ What have 
you done to Catherine ? You have annoyed her until 
she has appealed to me for help, and because I have 
not believed her, but sustained you, I have done 
her great wrong and helped you in sin. But now I 
know your purpose. You want to drive away the 
girl so that I will have no one to help me, and then 
take possession of my house and make me your 
servant. You think you will turn my home into a 
place for summer guests. But I ’ll show you that I 
am alive and will have my way. And I know that 
my pastor will help me, and not suffer us to be 
trodden under foot— neither me nor Catherine.” 

To this harangue Karl gave direct excuses or 
denials, and returned to the recent witchcraft of 
Catherine as a diversion. As he called upon Gott- 
hard and Christian to witness, and as Frau Deik 
continued to defend the girl on this line, the con- 


212 


The Mask of Beaiily. 


tentioii grew warm and excited. Others joined in 
the conversation and changed sides according to the 
nature of the accusation. The pastor found it very 
difficult to calm the heated minds, but these various 
expressions of feelings enabled him to complete 
the opinion based upon Karl’s insolent charges and 
Christian’s confirmation. And in the midst of his 
strenuous efforts to subdue this sudden frenzy of 
his people, the unpleasant truth pressed upon him 
that his years of labor to educate the people’s char- 
acters had borne fruit too small to conquer the for- 
mer weed of superstition. He must be content for 
the present to quiet them and send them home. 
He decided to keep Catherine for the present in his 
own house, where she would have the peace and 
quiet absolutely necessary for her health. 

As the others were leaving, the good man held 
Karl back. The lieutenant, observing this wish for 
a private interview, turned to the door, but, on the 
threshold, he looked around and caught the eye of 
Karl Deik. Mutual hatred beamed in the two op- 
posing faces. 

When the pastor found himself alone with the 
Burger, he walked up close to him, looked him 
sternly in the eyes, and said : 

“ I have kept you here, Herr Deik, to say that I 
have not failed to observe who was the fomenter of 
this disturbance.” He paused an instant and re- 
sumed : “You do not believe in witchcraft, and 
you know very well that your aunt’s servant had 
nothing to do with the fish-haul to-day. You must 
give me another reason for wishing the downfall of 


The Mask of Beatdy, 


o 


this woman ? What has the girl done to harm 
you ?” 

Karl would gladly have treated the pastor’s words 
with scornful silence or with insolent return, but 
his was a nature that fell helplessly before spiritual 
or mental superiority, and he could only ejaculate : 

“ Pastor, you know the saying, ‘ God for all, and 
every one for his own !’ I could not have this 
homeless, friendless creature to come and get my 
inheritance from my aunt. I can and I will — ” 

“ Stop !” interrupted the other. “ I know and 
respect your aunt, and know her intentions as well 
as Catherine’s! The one thought as little as the 
other of robbing you. Your aunt would never 
think of such a thing. And as you have not made 
answer to my question, ‘ What has Catherine done 
to harm you ?’ I ask you another. Mind me, Karl 
Deik : What have you done against her that you 
are so anxious for her ruin ?” 

The nobility and dignity of the good man’s figure 
and voice were such as to cause the ex-soldier un- 
wittingly to bow before him, as to a superior in 
military rank. 

This action did not escape the pastor’s notice, and 
he repeated, impressively : 

“ What have you done against her that you are so 
anxious for her ruin? Why have you taken a 
means as godless as shameful to common sense?” 
A long pause ensued. At last the pastor resumed : 
“ You want to fill the island with new ways of mak- 
ing money. You want to lead your fellow-citizens 
to enlightenment and progress. Then why should 


214 


7'he Mask of Beauty, 


you revive the criminal frenzy of superstition ? 
Shame ! You try to convict a woman of witchcraft 
because you could not lead her astray ! And for 
that you rush into my house ! For that you de- 
mand support from the guide of your spiritual 
interests !” 

Karl turned deadly pale. He felt himself dis- 
covered, but desired to brave it out. He forced 
himself to encounter the gaze of his accuser, and 
opened his mouth to speak, but the words died on 
his lips. 

An oath he would fain have uttered, but the 
pastor left him no time to frame it, had his in- 
solence sufficed. 

“ Go home at once,” commanded he, and see 
that you at once quell the excitement you have 
raised ! Catherine will remain here under my pro- 
tection. And remember, Frau Deik, that I will 
hold you personally responsible if the present event 
is not to-day forever hushed. Mark that ! Mark 
that, Herr Deik ! Whatever more is necessary for 
the people I will do as my duty. Tell your aunt 
that I request an interview with her to-morrow 
morning at ten o’clock.” 

With these words, he waved Karl toward the 
door, and himself left the room to seek Catherine. 




CHAPTER VI. 

The storm of nature was a fit symbol of the dis- 
turbance of minds in Hela, but the latter long out- 
lasted the former. Men always see in an event 
which illustrates their long-concealed belief proof 
of the truth and justice of their ideas, and the im- 
pression made by it does not die as quickly as it 
should do. 

In the pastor’s home all was quiet. The poor 
girl had fallen into a feverish slumber, from which 
she from time to time roused up in alarm, as if still 
pursued in dreamland by her persecutors. 

By her side sat the watchful, kind mistress of 
the house. Outside, in the small porch overlooking 
the garden, sat the pastor and his guest, discussing 
the recent sad event. Suddenly the form of a 
young sailor, respectfully touching his hat, crossed 
their vision. 

Neither gentlemen having heard the footsteps of 
the visitor, his abrupt appearance at the corner of 
the house gave them a kind of shocked surprise, 
and it was an instant ere the pastor ejaculated : 

Who are you 


[215] 


The Mask of Beauty. 


2 i6 


I am Christian, the son of the mayor of Heister- 
nest, sir !” was the humble reply. I see that you 
have forgotten me !” 

What do you want at this late hour ?” asked the 
other, interested by the young man’s unusual em- 
barrassment. 

“As I saw the garden gate open,” answered 
Christian, evasively, “ I thought I would come in 
and see if I could speak to — ” 

“ Say what you want then !” returned the pastor, 
encouragingly. 

“ What I want?” was the still more hesitating 
reply. “ I want nothing from you, sir ! But I want 
— I want to see Catherine !” 

“You cannot see her, because she is very sick,” 
answered the pastor solemnly. 

Christian stood silent an instant, and then said 
with feeling : 

“ Is she sick ? Then, sir, I wish nothing more. 
No harm, pastor, and good-night.” 

With these words he stepped back and would 
have gone, but the pastor called him back. He 
remembered what part Christian had taken in the 
the day’s transaction, and called upon him to give 
explanation of himself. Every word that the 
young sailor said proved both his strong attach- 
ment to the girl and the deep prejudice of the 
others against her. 

While the conversation continued the pastor’s 
wife came to the door and said ; 

“ Catherine has roused up and is entirely delirious. 
I fear for her reason.” 


The Mask of Beatity. 


2 I 7 


A slight cry of pain escaped from Christian’s 
breast, which only the young lieutenant heard. 

Bruno turned to him and said : 

“ Can not you go to Putzig and bring a physician ? 
We must have one.” 

“ Yes,” eagerly replied the young sailor. 

“Wait and take this note,” called the pastor 
after him. 

Christian stopped in the path, the pastor entered 
the house to write the note, and Bruno sat silent on 
the porch. 

When the good preacher returned with the mis- 
sive to be carried to the distant town of Putzig, the 
young officer asked : 

“ When do you expect to return ?” 

“ Return ?” was the surprised and sad response. 
“ I cannot return, because I must take the shortest 
route to Dantzig.” 

Then he placed the letter in his breast-pocket and 
started off. 

“ Hold !” cried Bruno, seizing his purse. “ Take 
this for travelling money.” 

“ No ! No ! I will not !” said Christian firmly, 
shaking his head and hurrying away. 

Bruno looked after him with a kind of embar- 
rassment, for which he could not account to himself. 

For the rest of the evening he was alone. The 
pastor found that Catherine’s condition demanded 
the care of the servant as well as his wife, and he 
therefore took charge of domestic affairs. The 
night and the following day passed slowly away. 
Late in the afternoon the physician arrived. He 


2 1 8 The Mask of Beauty, 


pronounced the disease nervous fever, brought on 
by excessive emotion and terror, prescribed reme- 
dies, and directed the patient to be kept safe from 
any influence that might renew the trouble. As it 
was so late when he arrived, the doctor was invited 
to postpone his return to Putzig until next day. 

Frau Deik, according to the pastor’s request and 
her own desire to see Catherine, had arrived early 
in the morning, and divided the labors of watching 
the sick girl with the lady of the house. When the 
doctor came, she was sitting by the bed, and the 
pastor’s wife was conversing with. Bruno. Natur- 
ally, the subject was the unfortunate incident of 
the previous day, and when the physician declared 
the necessity for removing the girl from her former 
surroundings should she recover, quite a discussion 
arose as to the best plan of proceeding. The good 
woman thought it best to keep the orphan in her 
own house and guard her from intercourse with the 
Helans to a great extent. Her husband, while hon- 
oring this good intent, believed it was injudicious 
to hold the girl as a kind of prisoner within the 
house or garden, and feared that this quasi-conceal- 
ment of her would nourish and foster the present 
superstitious feeling of the people. He judged the 
best action to be that of removing her into entirely 
new circumstances and far away from Hela, where 
her reputation was bad. The doctor’s proposition 
to secure her a home in Putzig was not favored, be- 
cause of the annual visits of the islanders to mar- 
ket, and at last Bruno, who had silently heard all 
opinions, said : 


The Mask of Beauty. 


219 


“ What do you all think of my writing to Eveline 
of this affair?” 

“ Has your sister returned ?” asked the pastor. 

“ Doubtless, as she generally keeps her word, and 
promised to reach Dantzig last Thursday,” re- 
plied he. 

“ Well, dear Bruno, I think you will be doing a 
good deed if you tell your sister of this matter and 
thereby secure a home for the orphan,” said his 
friend. 

“ Indeed, you will,” added his wife. I am cer- 
tain that Catherine will make herself a treasure in 
any household. She is industrious, capable and 
honorable far beyond most servants. And then she 
is so grateful and affectionate. She clings to Frau 
Deik and to us with great ardor. I am convinced 
by her confession to me that the unhappy event of 
yesterday would have been prevented had she come, 
as she intended, to my husband and revealed her 
grievances. She blames herself very much for her 
conduct, and I tell you it was very different from 
her usual ways.” 

“ How surprisingly beautiful was she when she 
burst into the room !” cried the young officer. “ I 
was startled and mystified, but the sight of her 
brought up a whole line of romantic pictures in my 
mind, and my first thought was, shame on me for 
it, a wish for my sister to enjoy the pleasure I ex- 
perienced.” 

The pastor smiled, but said solemnly : 

“ I know the practical sense and clear intelligence 
of the baroness, and that you can, if you wish to, 


220 


The Mask of Beauty, 


be reflective enough ; but, dear friend, neither she 
nor you have experienced the necessities of life 
nor have due respect for misfortune.” 

The young man seemed half hurt, half surprised 
by this remark ; but, with the hearty submission 
befitting the former relation of scholar to teacher 
and the difference in their years, vSaid : 

“ I receive the rebuke from you, because I realize 
that you are more or less right about the matter. 
But, in this particular case, I don’t understand the 
application of the principle.” 

“ I don’t accuse you of anything more than a 
certain generous weakness — a kind of open-hearted 
feeling that prompts help to be given to sorrow in 
a single-handed rapid or rich way. This is nobly 
meant, but is done without that true knowledge of 
the real suffering, which most needs relief, and 
implies the personal exercise of effort on the part 
of the unfortunate. You wealthy people regard 
your assistance as a poetical thing — as a luxur}^ — 
and not as an earnest, laborious act, and, therefore, 
your good deeds don’t make you as happy as they 
should r 

Bruno felt the keen truth of the sentiment, but, 
instead of reply, earnestly he said : 

“ I assure you, my dear friend, that I have not 
prepared a poetical bliss for my protegee. I only 
meant that Eveline might take her into service, 
and full well I know, by my service to you as 
scholar, that the position will not be without hard- 
ness to her. But, at least, she can make a good 
living and be treated kindly.” 


The Mask of Beauty. 


2 2 1 


In this way, the conversation about Catherine 
occupied the whole evening, though, once or twice, 
the pastor vSought to digress upon the spiritual and 
mental condition of his parishioners. 

When the circle broke up and separated for the 
night, Bruno, contrary to custom, could not per- 
suade himself to go to bed. 

He sat by the open widow and gazed out upon 
the sea. The air was fresh, and the moonbeams 
lighted the earth, revealing the outline of all ob- 
jects. Now and then light-gray clouds swept over 
the disk of the moon, only to pass away and heighten 
the enchanting effect of the restored light. The 
odor of flowers scented the soft atmosphere, and 
not a sound was audible, save the blows of the 
waves on the shore and the rustling of the leaves 
on three beech-trees, which furnished grateful 
shade to the house. 

The effect of the scene upon Bruno was most 
happy. He blessed the day on which he had 
thought of seeking this remote place, both for his 
restoration to physical and mental health. Inter- 
course with his old friends, quiet beauty of nature, 
peculiarity of customs of the people, all contributed 
to divert his mind and supplement the good effects 
of atmosphere and water. P'or it must be known 
that the young man’s heart was more deeply 
wounded than his health was impaired. How 
could it be otherwise, when death had robbed him 
of his child-love and his cherished betrothed ? 

Many times had the cruel monster entered the 
circle of his friends. His mother’s loss was the price 


2 2 2 


The Mask of Beauty. 


paid for his entrance into life, and, before his tenth 
year, his father fell a victim to the same relentless 
fate. Therefore, the boy’s rearing had been com- 
mitted to a sister much older than himself. This 
dear sister Eveline had married a widower with an 
only child of four years, and thus the boy and girl 
whom chance threw into the same household grew 
up together and were affianced. Eight months had 
now passed since the lovely girl faded away and 
died, leaving her betrothed of twenty-three years 
and brightest anticipations stunned with grief and 
bereft of plans for the future. He was an officer in 
the army, as his father had been before him, but 
his design had been, on marriage, to leave the service 
and retire to a castle inherited from his mother. 

Baron Rettfeld, Eveline’s husband, had always 
• preferred to reside there, and, after his death, the 
childless wife had bound up her future happiness 
in the union of the two children whom she had raised 
and their settlement on an estate connected with her 
happiest past. 

Marian’s death was a blow almost too heavy to be 
borne. The brother and sister grieved together 
and seemed to be nearer drawn to each other by 
mutual sympathy. They decided not to carry out 
their plan of changing residence, as Bruno could 
not bear the loneliness of the house, and Eveline had 
not strength to console him. So the officer retained 
his commission in the army, and his sister spent the 
winter with him in Danzig. They had only separat- 
ed a short time before, when the baroness had made 
an excursion for health in one direction, and Bruno 


The Mask of Beaiity. 


223 


had preferred to visit his old friend and teacher in 
Hela. Only a few weeks later, they had appointed 
to meet, once more, in the sister’s town home. 

It was long past midnight when the young man 
still sat by the window, deep in thought. The 
intense peace of nature contrasted strongly with 
the recent passionate rashness shown by men. 
The whole scene of the previous day came vividly 
before his mind, chief of which was the image of 
the half-wild, terrified girl rushing into the room. 
Deep compassion for her misery filled his breast, 
and he honestly reflected how he might help her. 
But his mind again and again reverted to his sister 
as the only feasible rescue, and he laid himself to 
rest with the determination to apply to her. But 
his dreams were busy with the same subject as his 
waking thoughts. 

Next morning early he sat down to com- 
pose the important document, and after a descrip- 
tion of the affair, added : 

“Thou wilt, perhaps, call me an enthusiast for saying that a 
fate like ours prepares us for sympathizing with the woes of 
others. All that was bound to us— thee and me— by the sweet 
ties of love and made our future hopes has been snatched away. 
If we try to console each other by the thought that life is creative 
and forms new joys and interests, the consolation is poor enough. 
But I am satisfied that thy practical benevolent nature sees some- 
thing worthy of effort in bringing aid to a lovely, unfortunate 
being, in receiving into thy house what can seldom be found — a 
servant who will serve thee with heart as well as with hand. 
Please, dear Eveline, answer this at once, that I may make the 
necessary arrangement with tfie pastor’s family for the girl ere I 
leave this place. Thine truly. 


“ Brunc. 


224 


The Mask of Beauty, 


Unfortunately the baroness was detained by her 
journey, and the letter was forwarded from Dantzig 
to one place after another, never catching her, and 
thus Bruno lingered two weeks in Hela, ever await- 
ing a reply. 

During this time Catherine progressed rapidly 
toward recovery. After the fever was allayed she 
grew better astonishingly fast, for natural vigor of 
youth conquered the weakness consequent upon 
disease. And it was hard to say which viewed her 
recovery more joyfully, the pastor’s wife or Frau 
Deik, who regularly came to see her long after 
her assistance was needed. Both of them noticed 
that Her eyes had lost their fire, her voice its sharp- 
ness, and an indefinable softness characterized her 
being, which could not be the sole effect of sickness. 

One warm day at noon more than a fortnight 
after the terrible experience, Catherine and her 
kind hostess came out of the house upon the porch. 

“ Sit down on the bench,” said the latter, “ for 
you are still weak.” 

“ No, not weak,” returned the girl, attempting to 
stand. “ I think that idleness has caused the 
trouble, and as soon as I go to work I will have all 
my strength.” 

But her trembling knees belied her words, and 
she unwillingly sat down opposite to her com- 
panion. 

They had not been seated long before Bruno ap- 
peared on the path leading from the sea through 
the garden. 

“The stranger!” exclaimed Catherine, with vis- 



THE DOOR WAS THROWN OPEN, AND CATHERINE WAS ADMITTED.— -S'ee Page 238 , 





The Mask of Beatity. 


225 


ible surprise' and embarrassment, pressing close 
against the wall. 

The lieutenant hastened to the porch, and 
scarcely had he touched it with his foot ere the girl 
came forward and kissed his hand. 

This action was customary from servants to mas- 
ters, and many a time before had he observed it 
with pleasure, but, from a maiden who was not in 
service in the house, it seemed an unnecessary sub- 
mission, and he cried, almost offended : 

“Child, what are you doing?” 

Catherine looked at him with perplexity on her 
face, but, as if excusing herself, said : 

“ Nothing — nothing at all.” 

“ I am glad to see you again,” he replied kindly. 
“ We all should thank God for preserving your life.” 

“ Yes,” she said, “ if only I had a position — if 
only I can go in service !” 

The young man, who had never before known 
anything of the life of laboring people, felt deeply 
touched to find the beautiful young creature’s in- 
terest in living coupled with the condition of servi- 
tude. So he answered, consolingly : 

“ You will surely find friends and the home you 
desire.” 

Just here the pastor came up, and while the con- 
versation was continued with him, Catherine kept* 
her eyes fastened upon Bruno’s face. 

For the next few days the young man saw Cath- 
erine only occasionally. The pastor’s wife had im- 
pressed upon her servant the Christian duty of 
being kind and pleasant to the orphan, and not to 


226 


The Mask of Beatity, 


annoy her with curious quevStions, Meantime, she 
assigned to Catherine light duties in the kitchen 
and house. All of these services were performed 
with attention and skill, and showed the girl's de 
sire to anticipate every want of her kind friends. 

Toward the end of the third week the long- 
expected letter from Baroness Rettfeld arrived, and 
its contents were in accordance with Bruno's high- 
est hopes. She said that she had returned to Dant- 
zig and longed to welcome her brother home. She 
added that she had considered his request to take 
the “ maid of Hela " in her service, and that she 
deserved no particular credit for complying, as her 
house-servant had committed offenses during her 
absence, justifying dismissal, and she preferred to 
get a substitute from the country, whom she could 
train. 

This news was particularly gratifying to the 
pastor and his wife. They had feared that the 
baroness, out of deference to Bruno's request, would 
take Catherine without any regular employment, 
and they dreaded the effect of idleness upon her 
mind. 

The good man hastened to summon her, and said 
joyfully : 

“ Catherine, you have gotten a place — a very good 
place !" 

“ Thank God !" exclaimed she, fervently, as she 
folded her hands over her breast, without asking 
where or what it would be. 

Her trust in the judgment of her friends was 
beautiful to witness. 


The Mask of Beauty. 


• 227 


You will remain with us ten or twelve days 
longer,” added the pastor, in order to get your 
wardrobe ready for the journey. Then we will 
find a way of sending you to Dantzig.” 

“ To Dantzig !” was the joyful, surprised reply. 

^^Yes,” returned he. “The baron has secured 
you a position with his sister.” 

The girl said nothing, but, with heightened color, 
rose and kissed the hands of her benefactors, 
beginning with the pastor and ending with 
Bruno. 

The young man, as she turned to leave the room, 
asked : 

“ Do you want to go to Dantzig ?” 

“ Oh, yes !” she replied. “ I thank Ood for giving 
me the chance to leave here, if only I will be able 
to do my duty there !” 

Bruno had expected a very different answer. He 
was rich, and did not understand the poor. He was 
like the prince, who asked idle questions, and like 
him, was surprised by the earnestness and plain- 
ness of the response. He had neither expected 
thanks from the girl nor any marked signs of glad- 
ness. He had imagined that she would experience 
some regret in the prospect of leaving the place 
and people she had so long known for new surround- 
ings and men. But, like most benevolent persons, 
he was encouraged by the reception of his first 
kind offer to plan the best means of conveying her 
to Dantzig. 

He proposed to convey her in the samel)oat with 
himself next day, inasmuch as it was not advisable 


The Mask of Beauty, 


228- 


for her to travel with the Helans going to the 
Dantzig market, but his offer was promptly de- 
clined by the pastor. 

Then he urged upon his friends to accompany 
her to the city, and utilize the excuse for paying 
the long-promised visit to his sister and himself, 
but church duties and engagements prevented ac- 
ceptance of the invitation. 

But that evening when F'rau Deik came in and 
heard the trouble, she at once offered to accompany 
Catherine to Putzig, when she might easily reach 
Dantzig by post-chaise without protection. And 
the young man’s mind was immensely relieved. 

Next morning, a short while before departure, 
Bruno and the pastor took a last walk together 
through the narrow street of Hela. As they passed 
Frau Deik’s house, she came out and entered into 
conversation with them. 

Her excuse was to find out the address of Baroness 
Rettfeld, but her real design was to relieve her 
burdened mind. She spoke of her sorrow over the 
imminent loss of Catherine, and declared that she 
could never fill her place in the household. She 
praised her for virtues and fidelity, and acknowl- 
edged the injustice she had inflicted upon her 
through the influence of another. 

Bruno told her that the pastor would furnish 
travelling money and everything else necessary for 
Eveline’s servant, and her spiritual guide promised 
to use all his authority and influence to restore 
Karl to the right way. As they turned to leave, 
the opposite door was opened, and out came the 


The Mask of Beauty. 


229 


Biir germeister, Wilhelm and Karl. The two young 
men, with quick salutations, went off a little, while 
Herr Hoffmann approached the group. 

Anxious to appear as well to a stranger as Frau 
Deik or the pastor, the last-named person put on 
his most magisterial air, and bowing politely, asked 
Bruno how he was pleased with Hela, and whether 
the bathing had benefited him. 

When the lieutenant replied in a courtly manner 
that he was charmed with the place, the Biirger- 
meister said pompously : 

“ If the baron will kindly forget the recent dis- 
turbance he witnessed here, and he should, for 
mortals are prone to do wrong everywhere, in cities 
as well as country, I say if you will kindly overlook 
that little disturbance, you will acknowledge that 
Hela is a quiet, pleasant resort for bathers, and I 
can assure you that if they will come here they will 
be treated most kindly. This place was always 
quiet until Catherine came here.” 

“And the baron is going to take Catherine away,” 
said Karl as if to Wilhelm, though his speech was 
perfectly audible to the rest. 

Bruno turned quickly and eyed the fellow with 
surprise. 

The pastor, observing the action and desirous of 
preventing his young friend from retorting, ex- 
claimed : 

“ Remember, Herr Deik, that we have this girl 
under our protection and have not failed to find 
out who was the offender against her.” 

Karl shrugged his shoulders and said with his 


230 


The Mask of Beauty, 


usual effrontery : “ It was I, of course!” and then 
resumed conversation with Wilhelm as they walked 
off. 

Too hot-headed entirely !” said the Biir germeister , « 
pointing after Karl. “ But,” he continued apologet- 
ically, “ he has a scheming head on his shoulders !” 

“ He will be my death !” cried Frau Deik, bitterly. 

It was too much for her that the fellow had 
arrayed himself against her pastor’s guest. 

“That man is inexpressibly obnoxious to me,” 
said Bruno to his friend, after they had bidden fare- 
well to Frau Deik, “and I hope he may never more 
cross my path 1” 




CHAPTER VIL 

It was almost dark when Catherine descended from 
the post-chaise in Dantzig and looked bewildered 
around the courtyard of the post building. And 
it was no wonder that her head was set swimming 
by her first ride in a vehicle. The journey had been 
filled with wonders and delights to her untutored 
mind. The rapid motion of the chaise, under which 
green meadows, large mowed fields, spreading trees, 
flocks of sheep, dwellings and avocations of men 
were seen, created an astonishment and suspense 
that overshadowed the sadness of parting from the 
pastor’s household and Frau Deik. But no previous 
experience was comparable to her sensation at sight 
of the city of Dantzig. The narrow streets between 
lofty houses were intensified in proportion by the un- 
certain light. In childhood, she had heard of Dantzig 
being a fortified place, without understanding what 
that pieant ; now she seemed to know it meant a 
prison. 

She thought that her mother had here lived, her 

[ 231 ] 



The Mask of Beauty. 


232 


father was killed here and she must here reside with 
a kind of oppression, and instinctively she looked up 
to the sky as the only direction of free space and 
possible escape. 

For the last half of the journey she had been sole 
occupant of the chaise, and now and then her mind 
turned to her future destiny. The pastor’s wife 
had told her that she would be called for at the sta- 
tion of the post, and, because she knew no one in 
Dantzig but the baron, she had innocently expected 
to meet him. 

When some time elapsed after she had dis- 
mounted, and no mortal noticed either her or her 
small belongings, she began to feel surprise and 
anxiety. Every one who passed and cast a glance 
toward her roused hopes, quickly to be succeeded 
by disappointment. 

Meantime, a neighboring clock struck eight, the 
sky became clouded, and a strong wind sprang up. 
And there she stood alone and more wretchedly 
forsaken than she had ever before felt, bhe asked 
herself again and again : 

“ Why did you come ? Why did you leave Frau 
Deik, your best friend ?” 

Rapid, confused thoughts surged through her 
head. Her childish superstitions, • the encounter 
near the old church, the afternoon on the Strand — 
all contributed to increase her discomfort. 

Once more she felt Karl’s rough hands, she 
feared the murmur of many accusing voices, she 
knew that Christian was snatching her precious 
earrings, and she was protecting them by flight. 


The Mask of Beauty, 


233 


Involuntarily she placed her hand upon them — 
the last, the only jewels she owned — but the real- 
ization of their safety failed to give her the accus- 
tomed comfort. 

Finally a short, stout woman approached and 
looked around searchingly. Seeing the girl, she 
asked : 

Are you the maid of Hela, whom the Baroness 
Rettfeld expects?” 

Yes,” returned Catherine, gladly. 

“ Ah,” was the cross response, “why couldn’t you 
have chosen better weather and hour of the day to 
come, instead of making me run about this time of 
night?” During this query she continued her in- 
vestigation with her eyes, and asked, when unsuc- 
cessful : “ Where is your baggage ?” . 

Catherine replied by raising the small bundle in 
her arms and taking hold of the box, but as it was 
apparently too heavy for her, the woman summoned 
a porter, in commanding tones, and directed him to 
convey the box to the residence of the baroness. 
The man went ahead with his burden, and Cather- 
ine walked beside her escort through the streets, 
terrified by the rolling of vehicles and dazed by the 
illumination of the sidewalks. 

It was quite a long way to the desired destina- 
tion, and, at first, the emissary took care to impress 
Catherine with the magnitude of her goodness in 
coming for her through the wind and darkness. 
But, before the walk was ended, her interest con- 
quered asperity, and she plied Catherine with many 
questions as to whose services she had left, why, 


234 


The Mask of Beauty. 


and how she had come to the baroness. But the 
girl had been duly warned as to what she should re- 
veal and what withhold, and her companion, despais- 
ing of gaining'information, concluded to give some. 

“ All I have to say is,” she added, ‘‘ that if you 
are a good seamstress, washer, ironer and waiting- 
maid, you could not have a better place than with 
the baroness. I have lived with her twenty-five 
years — long before she married Baron Rettfeld — 
and though I don’t do much now, I know my place 
in the house.” 

She paused, as if to hear a reply, but Catherine 
was too much affected by the catalogue of expected 
accomplishments to speak. 

Then she went on : 

“ I can promise you a good home. But remember 
that you do not make noises about the house, for 
my mistress cannot allow them. You must always 
be quiet and well-dressed from morning tilh late at 
night. Many a time company stays till two or three 
o’clock at night. This will be right hard on you, 
who are used to country hours.” 

She walked on silently for a few minutes, and 
then resumed, as if in soliloquy : 

“ It is never right with these country servants, 
anyway. I have so often told my mistress that she 
could not make anything of them. And the more 
I see them the less I like them !” 

With these last words, she turned upon Catherine 
and gave her a searching look from head to toe, so 
that the poor girl felt the flush of embarrassment 
cover her cheeks. ' 


The Mask of Beauty. 


235 


Her spirits were, each instant, growing lower. 
Questions flew through her mind which disturbed 
her, and could not find answer. What would happen 
if she was not acceptable? Would she be sent 
away ? Whither ? Could she learn ? What chance 
would be given ? 

At this point, the stout companion paused before 
the residence of Baroness Rettfeld. Catherine 
glanced hastily up, and saw a large, old stone 
building, five stories high, looming skyward, and 
apparently much loftier than the tower of the 
church in Hela. 

Eight marble steps led from the sidewalk to the 
balcony before the windows and door of the first 
story. The street lamps before the house gave a 
weird attraction to the green foliage of the two 
large linden-trees, whose roots were imbedded by 
the sidewalk 

The impression of the scene upon Catherine, who 
had never before seen a city house, a linden, nor 
even an illuminated tree, was magical. 

All the childish experiences of enchanting nature, 
the Christmas tree and the days in the woods — were 
vividly recalled. Meantime the old woman rang 
the bell, and Catherine followed her through the 
quickly opened door into a spacious, lofty hall, 
where a bright lamp illuminated the painted walls 
and carpeted stairway. Carving and pictures were 
abundant, and handsome, luxurious furniture that 
overpowered Catherine with wonder and pleasure. 

“ Ah, I see you have brought her, Frau Beier !” 
said the maid who had admitted them. “ Our mis- 


236 


The Mask of Beauty, 


tress has visitors now, and the girl must await her 
leisure, but she has ordered that you report to her.” 

Above in the reception-room Baroness Rettfeld 
was taking tea with her guests. vShe was a woman of 
forty years, and could still be called beautiful. No 
wrinkles disturbed the surface of her white brow, 
her blonde hair fell in ringlets over her shoulders, 
her lips wore a refined attraction, and her blue eyes 
possessed the mingled gentleness and strength that 
characterized her brother’s. She was dressed in 
mourning, but with elegance and taste. 

Near her on the sofa sat a very old lady, the 
widow of Regierungsrath Kahlbach, who had been 
a friend of her mother’s. Opposite to this person 
sat her youngest son, a captain in the army and a 
bachelor of more than forty years. At his right 
was a young girl, the eldest grandchild of Frau 
Kahlbach, come to Dantzig to make her entree into 
society. 

The acquaintance of the two families had been 
long but not intimate. The baroness had little admir- 
ation for the old, scheming woman who, having failed 
in her effort to make a match between the captain 
and herself, was trying the same game on Bruno and 
her granddaughter Sophie. Her brother had no 
love for the dissolute Kahlbach. But neither was 
prepared to fall out with the mother’s friend and 
her son, and so, as their acquaintance was kept up 
unwillingly, there was no true enjoyment in the 
intercourse. 

It happened that the conversation was slowly 
dragging when Frau Beier entered the room, and^ 


The Mask of Beauty. 


237 


with the propriety of a well-trained servant, quietly 
came behind her chair and whispered : 

“ The maid of Hela has come.” 

“ How does she look ?” asked the baroness. 

The servant shrugged her shoulders. 

“ Give her some supper,” directed the mistress. 

But, in spite of the shortness and quietness of the 
interview, the old lady had caught a few words, 
and said : 

‘''Has a guest come?” 

“ Oh, no ; it is only a servant whom I wrote for,” 
was the polite answer. 

“ Where from ?” persisted the other. 

“ From the country. My brother has been to 
visit his old teacher, in whose family there was an 
orphan girl desirous of coming to town, and, as I 
have had trouble with my house-maid, I thought I 
would try this one as substitute and train her as 
I wish.” 

“ A servant from Hela !” cried the captain, scorn- 
fully. A fit action for Bruno’s philanthropy and 
your accommodation ! A libel on your good sense 
for it, dear baroness !” 

The hostess heard this remark with displeasure, 
and asked, with a warmth that struck her auditors : 

“ How do you know that the girl is from Hela ?” 

“ Because that is where your brother went to 
bathe,” answered the captain. 

“I wonder if she is pretty?” put in his niece, 
with youthful awkwardness. 

“ Yes, I believe she is considered so,” returned 
the baroness. 


238 The Mask of Beauty. 


“ How can you be so heroic as to restrain your 
curiosity to see her ?” asked Frau Kahlbach. 

“ I am not very anxious,” replied the other. 

“ But I am exceedingly curious,” persisted the 
old lady. 

“ So am I,” added her son. 

And I,” echoed Sophie. 

The baroness was very much annoyed by this 
turn of affairs. She tried politely to lead the con- 
versation and interest elsewhere, but Frau Kahl- 
bach was not to be foiled. At last she was con- 
strained to ring for the maid to summon the 
newcomer. 

This command seemed to put the visitors in best 
humor. 

Sophie, who was not at all pretty, but was con- 
sidered witty, said : 

I am satisfied that we will see a singular beauty 
— a mermaid. And, uncle, you should, like Ulysses, 
try to bind her.” 

“ I think I am safe against the charms of a Helan !” 
replied the captain, who liked nothing better than 
being teased in spite of his forty years. Just here 
the door was thrown open, and Catherine was ad- 
• mitted. 

The company looked from her to each other, in 
utter surprise. She no longer wore the kerchief nor 
the blue-linen costume of the islander. 

Frau Deik had given her a new dress, which fitted 
closely around the neck and was made of black 
woolen cloth in deference to the mourning of her 
new mistress. Her hair was smoothly brushed and 


The Mask of Beauty. 


239 


wound into a crown on the top of her head. She 
was both pale and confused. Pausing on the 
threshold and raising her dark eyes timidly toward 
the company, the majesty of her beauty and pathos 
of her situation moved the sympathy of the baroness 
powerfully. 

The good woman hastened to meet her, and said 
with benevolent mien, while Catherine bent and 
kissed her hand : 

“ I am glad to see you, child. I need you and 
looked for you anxiously. Rest yourself to-night, and 
to-morrow I will see you again.” 

With these words she turned toward the company, 
intending for Catherine to retire. But the girl did 
not understand her command, and the captain, avail- 
ing himself of her lingering, approached and said : 

‘‘ How do you like the city ?” 

“ I don’t know anything of it,” she answered con- 
fusedly and turned to leave the room. But on the 
threshold she met Bruno entering, and her joy on 
seeing him was quite as evident as his displeasure 
at finding her in his sister’s circle of visitors. 

“Why are you here?” he asked quickly and 
immediately turning to his sister added : “ Eveline,” 
why did you call her ? Send her away !” 

“ I have just told her to retire,” returned the 
baroness, and Catherine was not slow to obey. 

After her departure, a kind of restraint fell 
upon the small company. The baroness felt that 
her brother was righteously displeased by the wa)^ 
her new maid was shown to her guests, and the 
surprised curious reception given the girl by them 


240 


The Mask of Beauty. 


was more painful than voluble remarks on her would 
have been. 

After a while, the captain laughed and said: 

“ I tell you, dear baroness, that if she is a specimen 
of Helan maids, I will go next summer and bring my 
mother one of them.” 

Bruno treated both the remark and its insinuat- 
ing intimation with apparent equanimity. 

“ Yes,” he replied, “ the girl is very pretty, and my 
friends think much of her. They nursed her 
through a recent spell of nervous fever, and they tell 
me that before her sickness she was prettier than 
now. I have only known her since.” 

The tenor of this reply was such as to forbid 
further jesting on the subject, and the conversation 
turned upon other topics. But the baroness could 
not regain her usual sprightliness. 

She was surprised by the unusual beauty of the 
new servant, and realized that the wonder of her 
present guests was but a forerunner of future dis- 
cussion, when people heard that Bruno had brought 
her to the house. This thought annoyed her greatly, 
and she reflected how she might get rid of the girl 
without offending the pastor or brother. But no 
solution of the matter suggested itself, and, finally, 
the visitors departed. 

Scarcely were the brother and sister alone before 
the baroness cried reproachfully : 

That girl is much too pretty for a servant !” 

Almost simultaneously, Bruno said, as if thinking 
aloud : 

“ How could you call the poor thing up to satisfy 


The Mask of Beauty. 


241 


the curiosity of impertinent people? If you had 
wanted to find the best means of making the girl’s 
presence in the house a public talk, you could not 
have done better !” 

Eveline felt the justice of her brother’s reproach. 
She had already, within her heart, repented of the 
indiscretion. But the young man’s earnest defense 
seemed to imply more interest in the servant than 
was natural, and created in her bosom a kind of 
distrust toward Catherine. 

She was, however, fortunately for the girl, not 
the person to cherish hidden dislikes, and this 
prejudice was dissipated next morning, when she 
had opportunity to see and observe its object. 

To the poor orphan, everything was strange and 
wonderful — the house — the broad steps — the rooms 
— the furniture — even the air she breathed. 

She was ignorant of the duties she had to per- 
form and of the lady she must serve. Had her 
heart been free from suspense, the baroness would 
have attracted instead of alarmed her. Eveline, 
wholly unconscious of her protegee s feelings, in 
order to accomplish her training best, decided to 
win her heart first, and kindly told her next morn- 
ing that she was acquainted with her previous sad 
life, and intended t. make her present one happy. 

On the first evening of regular service, after 
Catherine had helped her to undress, she told her 
that she was smart and good enough, and only 
needed effort to do everything well. The soft, 
gentle tone of voice made a deep impression on 
the girl. No other mortal— save the pastor’s wife 


242 


T'he Mask of Beauty. 


during her severest sickness — had ever addressed 
her in such a manner. Great tears welled up to 
her eyes, and gratitude beamed in her face. 

Eveline judged this to be the proper moment to 
make a designed speech. She began by saying 
that her fate had been a very hard one, that a kind 
of curse seemed to lie upon her, but that she might 
overcome it by doing her duty and trusting in God. 
She promised to give her all the help possible, to 
keep her in service, and to teach her what was 
desirable. She asked her to trust her fully and open 
her heart fully about past as well as future troubles. 
At the same time she warned her against revealing 
her past to others and finally advised her to try to 
forget it and live a new life. 

Catherine listened respectfully to these words, so 
similar to the advice of the pastor of Hela. Both 
advisers failed to see that the command to forget 
the past must make a different impression upon the 
orphan of Hela than what was natural to their 
enlightened minds. 

All night long the girl lay awake thinking over 
the solemn words of her mistress. The present 
advice to renounce all thoughts of the past made a 
different impression on her from that given when 
she entered Frau Deik’s house as a child. Since 
then she had tried to do her duty faithfully and 
bear a clear conscience toward God and man, and 
yet the reproach of her former surroundings was 
brought against her. Of her whole sojourn in Hela 
she could only repent of the sin of wishing ill to her 
persecutors when maddened by maltreatment and 


The Mask of Beauty. 


243 


terror. It was hard to be commanded by a stranger 
to forget Frau Deik, the pastor, his wife, Christian, 
Mathes, Pinor and her grandmother — all who had 
ever treated her well. Her mind reverted to a poor 
lark which she had found with a wounded leg one 
day and placed in the bird cage only to pine away 
and die. She felt that she was like the bird — caged 
and heartsore. 

When the baroness had declared that a curse 
rested upon her life, the words had struck her like 
a heavy blow ; but now, in the silence and loneliness 
of her roomSf they came back to her heart as truth- 
ful, piercing arrows. 

Next morning she arose with an aching head and 
cold limbs, and feared a return of sickness. But 
she did not complain of her feelings, and managed 
to fulfill the duties of the day. The baroness fur- 
nished her with abundance of employment, which 
proved a blessing. 

Quick and skillful, she soon learned what was re- 
quired of her, and performed it with quite the zeal 
that characterized her services to Fran Deik. But 
there was one difference. 

Frau Deik was a woman of few words. She used 
to command and approve in sparing language, and 
Catherine was accustomed to her ways and fell into 
them fully. 

The baroness, on the contrary, talked much, and 
the girl was surprised and constrained by her volu- 
bility. 

The diligence with which she instructed her, 
the gentleness with which she chided, the zeal with 


244 


The Mask of Beauty. 


which she praised, the care with which she re- 
strained her from the rest of the domestics, gave 
the ignorant girl a kind of anxious care. 

Gradually she acquired a distrust and fear of her 
mistress, without being able to give any cause for 
it. Her strict obedience to the order of associating 
and communicating as little as possible with her 
fellow-servants evoked their deep prejudice and ill- 
will. The isolation of village and of town life was 
not comparable to this, because she was so much 
more capable of feeling it now. 

Besides this inner trouble, her new surroundings 
and avocations wrought another effect. In Hela 
she was used to working hard from morning till 
night, but in the free, fresh sea-air, now she sat 
almost the whole time sewing in a small room ad- 
joining the bed-chamber of her mistress, and her 
only view comprised a court surrounded by lofty 
buildings, into which the sunlight seldom pene- 
trated and darkness came early. Formerly she 
sank to rest gladly soon after dark ; now, sleep 
would not visit her eyelids late at night. In the 
day she often experienced a painful longing for 
Frau Deik’s garden and the sea. 

She could not rid herself of the oppression pro- 
duced by the gray walls shutting out the green 
woods bathed in golden sunlight and filled with 
humming-bees and singing birds. Loneliness and 
longing weighed upon her heart. 

At night she went to bed and lay awake, listening 
with alert ears for the well-known roaring of the 
ocean or the wind of arising storm. But no sounds 


The Mask of Beauty. 


245 


were audible grander than the ’policeman’s call or 
the rolling of vehicles. 

When morning returned, she realized that the 
day must pass as all the preceding, with the same 
walls, the same employments, the same soft com- 
munications of the baroness, and the thought invol- 
untarily followed that there could be no greater 
misfortune for her than the monotonous, easy, con- 
fined service of the city house. 

Thus two weeks passed slowly away. Bruno had 
left Dantzig just after Catherine’s arrival to attend 
with his regiment the maneuvers at Konigsberg, 
and, by his absence, the house was unusually quiet. 
The baroness did not fail to observe that something 
was troubling Catherine. She also saw that she 
was each day becoming paler and thinner, but she 
attributed all to the influence of sad memories and 
strange, new surroundings, and believed she would 
soon grow better. 

She was more than satisfied with Catherine’s ser- 
vices. Her pleasure in her obedience was only , 
equaled by her astonishment at her skill in needle- 
work. And she (like others) learned to love the 
object which had so fully rewarded her labors. 
She had taken the girl in answer to the first request 
made by Bruno in a long time, and she had every 
cause to hope that in the orphan she had found the 
servant so long sought in vain. 

About this time, there came a portrait-painter 
from the Residence to Dantzig. Bruno and Eveline 
did not possess a good likeness of the beloved 
Marian, and they— with several other persons — 


246 


The Mask of Beauty. 


employed the artist to come to their homes and 
paint her portrait and their own. 

Immediately after arrival the painter came to the 
house of the baroness and proposed to begin her 
portrait. The question arose as to the proper 
costume for the picture, and Eveline, turning to 
Catherine, commanded her to bring certain gar- 
ments that were spoken of. 

The girl quickly returned and spread out the 
clothing upon chairs placed for them in a strong 
light. The baroness noticed that the artist was 
more busily engaged in examining the servant than 
the materials and colors of the clothing, and took 
occasion to send her away on an errand. 

Hardly was Catherine out of hearing, before she 
laughingly said : 

“ Don’t you think that head is worth your journey 
from the Residence, and that the . permission to 
paint it would be sufficient compensation for the 
work you do for us ?” 

“ Where did she come from ?” asked the man, so 
carried away by the beauty of the servant as to 
forget to make the proper compliment to her 
mistress. 

“ From the peninsula of Hela,” replied the 
baroness. “ Her mother was a very pretty blonde, 
but her father was a Spaniard.” 

She felt the same pleasure in the interest shown 
by a celebrated painter in her servant’s beauty, as 
the owner of a fine house, blooded horse or rare 
painting would feel when they are admired. 

“You can have her to sit for her portrait after 


The Mask of Beauty. 


247 


you have finished my brother’s and my own,” she 
generously added, without waiting for the request. 

“ Thanks, many thanks !” cried the. painter. 
“ Such harmonious perfection of exterior must 
indicate corresponding mental rarity.” 

This remark made a deep impression upon the 
baroness. Romance, which is active or slumbering 
in most women, and especially in those like Eveline 
who are called from youthful dreams to marriage 
with a much older man, and rearing of his child, 
roused up with mighty power. Poetry and fancy 
had always been nourished by her in opposition to 
her own prosy life. 

Hence she had watched and sympathized with 
the attachment between her step-daughter and 
Bruno. She had deeply mourned over her untimely 
death. She had yielded to him all the poetry of 
life and given herself up to the practical. How 
poetical was it then for him to discover and bring 
to her this remarkable beauty, and how practical 
for her to train and develop her ! 

When once the idea of Catherine’s being some- 
thing unusual entered Eveline’s head, it could not 
be dismissed. Though she had ordered the girl to 
forget the past, she found herself continually think- 
ing of it. She persuaded herself that the orphan 
might have aristocratic, noble blood in her veins 
from her father’s side. She decided that she would 
at once show her practical judgment by training 
her in more ways than before. But she would take 
care not to be over-zealous in the matter and betray 
her design to outsiders. 


248 


The Mask of Beauty. 


The first change made was merely to have the 
girl sit in the room with her and do her usual work. 
In her presence the management of the household, 
the practicing of music, reading, and even recep- 
tion of visitors was done. 

The mistress hoped and believed that these 
diversions would attract her servant, but at first 
there was no apparent effect. The same sadness 
and earnestness characterized her as at first. Only 
occasionally her expression of countenance indicated 
that surroundings were influencing her, and refine- 
ment gradually usurping the place of natural 
strength of mien. 

The baroness, like all -good teachers, was not 
impatient, and took courage for final success. 

Six weeks passed away thus. Catherine had 
become thoroughly acquainted in the house, and 
her quiet, helpful ways about everything had some- 
what reconciled the other servants to her presence. 
Even Frau Beier, the oracle of the kitchen, conceded 
that the new maid was competent far beyond most 
country girls. 

Outside of the house, curiosity and discussion 
were active concerning her. Some of the lady- 
friends of the baroness were surprised and amused 
that she should take into service a girl wholly ig- 
norant of her duties. Others were still more aston- 
ished that she should keep always near her a 
domestic whose beauty so far outshone her own. 
But both parties knew well the practical, sensible 
character of Eveline, and believed that she was act- 
ing advisedly in the matter. It was only among 


The Mask of Beauty, 


249 


the less intimate acquaintances of the family that 
blame was cast upon the lady. There it was said 
that the tender, loving- sister had only received 
Catherine in the house for her brother’s sake. It 
was told that the beautiful girl had been found by 
Bruno on his travels and placed under the pastor’s 
care until she was brought to Dantzig. Among the 
most diligent of the gossips were Frau Kahlbach 
and her children. That Bruno had loved Marian 
from childhood and was still mourning her death 
was reckoned as no contradiction nor hindrance to 
this belief. 

It was not long before the maid of Hela was 
spoken of in all circles, so that the painter was in- 
formed of the various rumors as he went from 
place to place in his work. Fortunately, he was an 
elderly, worldly-wise man, who placed little value 
or credence upon gossip, and judged things simply 
and charitably. To him there could be nothing 
more simple and natural than that a lady should 
both have a pretty servant and desire her portrait 
to be taken. As he had lived long in Italy and 
seen much of the lower class of people, he under- 
stood how to approach the girl. He was always 
kind toward her, without showing particular notice, 
for she was in the room while the baroness sat for 
her picture. Gradually she took more interest in 
the conversation between her superiors, which 
being less rapid and connected than usually, was 
more within her comprehension. 

Often the subject of discussion was the young 
’baron, and Eveline represented him to the artist in 


The Mask of Beauty. 


250 


colors of beautiful hues. She told how he had been 
left an orphan at ten years old, and how, thereby, 
he had become both brother, son and dearest friend 
to herself. She instanced many illustrations of fine 
traits given in childhood and youth. She described 
his betrothal to her step-daughter, his deep love 
for her, his high hopes of happiness with energetic 
sympathy. With equal sympathy, she told of his 
despairing sorrow over the corpse of his beloved. 

The painter shuddered as he listened, and said 
consolingly : 

“ How hard has been the fate of this worthy 
young man ! But I trust he will find consolation 
for his loss in new hopes and new bonds.” 

The baroness shook her head with a sad smile, 
which did not escape Catherine’s observation. 

After a pause she abruptly said : . 

“ What you say about the future possibilities of 
my brother’s life is natural to hope, but I do not 
believe in them because — ” she hesitated, as if 
doubtful whether to proceed, but continued — 

“ because he has no luck !” 

“ Are you so superstitious ?” asked the painter, 
smiling. 

‘‘ Call that not superstition which I might prove 
by my own experience and observation,” she 
returned. “ I firmly believe that some men are 
born for good luck, while others are not.” 

“ That is in other words the unalterable destiny 
of humanity, is it ?” 

In a certain sense, yes.” 

She ceased, as the artist made a sign for her to ' 


The Mask of Beauty. 


251 


be quiet. He worked in silence for some time, but 
was evidently thinking all the while of the last 
remark of the baroness, for he resumed, with a 
suggestion of mockery in his tone : 

“ What do you think, then, of this destiny?” 

“ You have understood my remark otherwise than 
I intended, I think,” was the answer. “You are 
seeing and making light of a supernatural power, 
while I, on the contrary, hold that our authorization 
for life depends mostly upon our own organisms. 
To receive present happiness implies fitness of the 
recipient. Not every mortal can seek, work for, 
seize and hold happiness. There are some to whom 
energy and striving make the struggle for happi- 
ness the same as happiness itself. But those who 
suffer instead of laboring, who receive instead of 
grasping, possess no bliss beyond what fate may 
offer. To this latter class my brother belongs, and 
therefore do I believe that he has no prospects 
for the future — that he is not born for happi- 
ness.” 

Neither Eveline nor the artist observed what an 
impression these words made upon Catherine — an 
impression the more hurtful because she could not 
comprehend their full meaning. 

Frau Deik had always taught her that a man 
would reap what he sowed, and made his own hap- 
piness, while the pastor assured her that God would 
be her help in time of need, did she but do her duty. 
To contradict their words the baroness declared, 
what in her loneliness and forlornness she had 
secretly believed always, that some mortals were 


The Mask of Beauty. 


252 


born for happiness, and others were not. The former 
remark of Eveline — that there was a curse upon 
her — had taken deeper root in the orphan’s mind 
than was good for her soul, and now she heard from 
the same lips that the noble young baron was not 
happy, but born for ill-luck like herself. 

The thought of his misfortune evoked her deep- 
est sympathy, while she felt consolation in knowing 
that she was not alone in misery. Constantly she 
meditated upon the similar curse that overshad- 
owed them. The image of him as he first appeared 
in the pastor’s house in Hela and delivered her from 
her persecutors was ever before her mind. As a 
savior — as a protector — stood he always in her 
thoughts. When a child, she had seen a picture in 
one of the schoolmaster’s books representing a 
beautiful angel, with broad wings and fiaming 
sword, protecting a man. All during her sickness 
had this angel seemed to hover over her head, 
wearing the countenance of Bruno. Many a night 
since had she dreamed of the visitor with the face 
and voice of her deliverer. 

It seemed incredible that the superior being who 
had brought her to Dantzig for protection against 
her enemies should be subject to the same misfor- 
tune as herself. 

During the first days of residence in the strange 
house, while her heart was bowed down with sad- 
ness, hope suggested that life would be better when 
Bruno returned to it. As in Hela, so on the first 
evening in Dantzig, he had been her guardian 
against the curiosity of Captain Kahlbach. How 


The Mask of Beauty, 


253 


handsome and noble he was in his beautiful uni- 
form and shining sword ! 

The captain, who came frequently to the house, 
was an object of constant repulsion and dread to 
her, and she tried never to meet him outside of her 
mistress’s room. The revelation of the sorrow — 
the unhappiness — of the peerless baron filled her 
heart with indescribable sympathy and anxiety. 

She could hardly await his return. Whenever 
one of his rooms was opened, she felt inclined to 
see if he were there. She decided to tell him how 
she had wished for his coming and dreamed of him. 
She imagined this and that spot as the probable 
place of meeting him. Many a time she mistook 
the rolling of a carriage or the fall of a footstep for 
his. In a word, she had never before thought so 
often and tenderly of any absent mortal. 

At last the desired morning arrived. Unmistak- 
able signs of an important arrival were seen. 
Rooms were carefully prepared, a sumptuous din- 
ner ordered and pleasure beamed on every count- 
enance. As usual, however, the painter arrived, 
and the baroness seated herself for the por- 
trait. 

The day was, contrary to many preceding it, cold 
and damp and the sky covered with gray clouds. 
The artist complained of the poor light for work- 
ing. To Catherine, the penetrating atmosphere 
and the dark firmament were equally unnoticeable. 
Her thoughts were with her home by the sea. She 
heard, in imagination, the beloved roar of the water 
and felt the soft, fresh sea-breeze on her cheek. 


254 


The Mask of Beauty. 


Bright sunshine seemed to flood the world,’ and, as 
she raised her head from sewing to the heavy sky 
above, the sight could not quench the light in her 
eyes. 

The night before she had dreamed of being alone 
in the pastor’s garden, where she sat under the 
shady tree, rejoicing that neither Wilhelm, Gott- 
hard, Karl nor Christian was near. She could not 
think, as she there rested, of her protector’s coun- 
tenance, of his voice, and, while she was striving 
to do so, lo, the garden vanished, and she sprang 
up in bed to realize the truth. 

The noble baron was, like herself, resting under 
a curse. His sister had declared that in losing his 
betrothed he had lost all happiness in life. But 
in the midst of the sympathy, which this thought 
evoked, there rushed a kind of joy into her heart 
that, if he was unhappy she was also, and they 
were alike — alike ! 

As she raised, her eyes lighted by this thought, 
the door-bell rang quickly, and the baroness, joy- 
fully crying : It is he !” ran down the steps to 

greet her brother. 

Catherine rose involuntarily and as suddenly 
reseated herself. 

The painter asked her a question, which was 
unnoticed in the tension of her interest in the 
approaching footsteps. Her heart was beating loud 
enough to be heard. 

“ This is my brother !” cried the baroness, proudly 
presenting Bruno to the painter. 

The usual civilities were exchanged. Then the 


The Mask of Beauty. 


255 


young man observed his sister’s portrait, admired 
the costume, the hands, the features and discussed 
them with the painter, without seeing the one who 
sat, as if nailed to her chair and cold as ice, listen- 
ing to the conversation. 

The baroness said that he looked badly, and he 
replied that the exposure of camp-life, combined 
with little rest, was the cause of it, but he would 
soon get well, resting at home with his sister. 

And still he saw her not. 

At last, the baroness asked : 

How does Catherine look ? Hasn’t she im- 
proved ?” 

As he turned toward her, she rose to receive him. 
The blood surged into her head and roared in her 
ears, while he took her hand and said, kindly : 

“ How are you, child ?” And without awaiting a 
response, added: “Your mistress is right in say- 
ing you have improved. She gratified me by 
writing how well you do.” 

The condescending words were moving her to 
tears, and lest he might see them, she bent over 
and kissed his hand. 

But her emotion did not escape Bruno’s notice. 

“ Do you want anything ?” he asked. 

She could only shake her head in negation. 

“She is thinking about home, I fear,” said the 
baroness. “ Go, Catherine, to your room !” 

While she, in obedience to the command, was 
leaving the room, she heard the painter say : 

“ She has strong feelings.” And, as she delayed 
an instant to close the door, in hopes of catching 


256 


The Mask of Beauty. 


another glimpse of the newcomer, the same person 
added : Beware of that dangerous creature !" 

And the baroness laughed. 

Frightened by both, she hastened to her room. 
Neither the words nor laughter were understood. 
Interpreting them as a complaint against her, she 
took courage knd consolation only in her belief in 
Bruno’s protection. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

The autumn day of the young baron’s return was 
the anniversary of Marian’s death. 

A.S soon as the new year began, Baroness Rett- 
feld, believing it indispensable to furnish diversion 
for her brother, gave numerous invitations and en- 
tertainments. The presence of the painter fur- 
nished the desired excuse for them. It was impor- 
tant to offer to the distinguished artist from the 
Residence all the civilities of social life, and, 
thereby, her own pleasure and Bruno’s good could 
be secured. 

Scarcely a week passed without a grand dinner 
or party in the house. Naturally, the household 
labors were greatly increased, and Catherine was 
called upon to do various duties before untried. 

Her activity and skill, combined with helpful- 
ness, greatly diminished the prejudice of her fellow- 
vservants, born of her reticence and the partiality of 
the baroness to her. The greatest complaint made 
against her now was that she was not dressed in the 
proper costume of maids, but after the style of 
ladies. . The baroness had bought her clothing and 
directed the arrangement of her hair. Only one 

[257] 


The Mask of Beauty. 


25^ 


thing distinguished her from others — the large gold 
earrings of her mother. 

Such a singular attraction did they give to her 
face that the painter requested the baroness to 
allow her to wear them when sitting for her 
portrait. 

It was impossible for Catherine to escape the 
observation and remarks of the guests of Baroness 
Rettfeld, for as she assisted in waiting on the table 
at the grand banquets, they all learned to know her. 
Men, young and old, loved to have her serve them, 
and tried to keep her employed, but as she was 
accustomed in Hela to wait on Karl’s friends, she 
performed their requests with quiet ease. 

Of all the male visitors there was only one whom 
she disliked and strove to avoid. 

One evening a large company was invited to a 
concert. Among the performers was a lady who 
had accidentally brought the wrong piece of music, 
and the right one must be gotten. The baroness, 
not being able to spare another servant, ordered 
the chambermaid to perform the errand. 

When Catherine brought the message to the 
woman, she was busy arranging Bruno’s bed- 
chamber for the night, and made an impatient com- 
plaint of being interrupted. She declared that 
every minute of the day had been occupied 
with work, and asked Catherine to have the good- 
ness to finish arranging the room for her in her 
absence. 

The girl, impelled by her usual helpful inclination, 
and knowing that the baroness and her brother 


The Mask of Beauty. 


259 


liked to find every duty done in the right way and 
time, consented. 

The room was situated on the left hand of the 
entrance hall and opened on the so-called reception- 
room, where visitors laid aside their wrappings, and 
near the broad stairway leading to the parlors of 
the baroness. 

Bruno was in the dressing-room, preparing for the 
company, when the servant entered the sleeping- 
apartment to turn down the bed, close the blinds 
and curtains and bring water and lights for the 
night. 

She had almost finished the work when the baron 
opened the door of the room, dressed for the even- 
ing and holding a book in his hand. 

He had been reading, and wanted to lay the book 
on the table by his bed to finish later. 

Seeing Catherine he looked at her in surprise and 
asked : 

“ Why are you here ?” 

“ My mistress sent Anna on an errand, and I am 
doing her duty.” 

The duty might have been postponed,” returned 
Bruno meaningly. 

The girl, thinking he meant to complain of her 
work, said : 

“ I have done everything that she told me.” 

No matter, then. I believe that you have done 
right,” he answered. ‘‘ But if you have finished go 
upstairs.” 

Quickly she, raised the water-bucket, filled the 
pitcher and turned to leave the room. But, just 


26 o 


The Mask of Beauty. 


then, the door-bell rang, and the first guest entered 
the reception-hall, and Catherine paused until he 
. was ushered upstairs. 

Meantime, Bruno missed a ring which he wore 
in memory of his betrothed, and thought he had 
laid it upon the washstand ; but, as it was not there 
and he was in a hurry, he called the girl to help 
him find it. 

Thus, a few minutes were passed in the search, 
and when she, after success, left the room, there 
met her, face to face, the man of all on earth she 
dreaded most to see — Captain Kahlbach ! 

Although he was not intimate with the family, 
he was well acquainted with the arrangement of 
the house, and, casting upon Catherine a glance of 
surprise and disdain, he asked : 

“ Where did you come from ?” 

Gladly would she have failed to answer him, but 
previous meetings had convinced her that such was 
not the quickest mode of obtaining release. So she 
replied shortly : 

“ I have been in here to fix the bedroom for the 
night !” 

“ Does the baroness occupy this floor ?” retorted 
the captain, sharply. 

“ No, sir, the baron does !” said the poor girl. 

But as soon as the words left her lips, she realized 
that he had set a trap for her in his questions. 

Blushing deeply, she attempted to pass on ; but 
he pressed so closely to her side as almost to touch 
her cheek with his stiff, red beard, and whispered : 

“ What is there between you and the lieutenant, 


The Mask of Beauty, 


261 


who mourns the loss of his betrothed? There 
are other places where you — ” 

The door of the bedroom opened, and Bruno 
entered the hall. Captain Kahlbach turned toward 
him, and Catherine hastily ascended the stairs. 
Their actions clearly showing to Bruno what had 
happened, he came to the man’s side, greeted him 
with cold politeness, and asked : 

“ What did you want, sir?” 

The captain laughed insolently, and replied : 

“ I wanted to get a good look at and talk with 

that girl, but she is d d shy !” Then he added, 

with a familiarity which his relation to Bruno did 
not justify : “You know Schiller says ; ‘ The face of 
a pretty girl is like sunlight.’ ” 

The host, mindful of the duties of his position, 
controlled his resentment, and, with a forced smile, 
returned : 

“ That is true of Wallenstein’s Camp, but not of 
my sister’s house, captain !” 

The words did not fail, however, to anger his 
companion, for, while he answered pleasantly, the 
veins of his forehead were swollen and red, and he 
bit his lips under his mustache. 

The interview thus ended, but the visitor thought 
himself observed by Bruno throughout the evening 
with no pleasant manner. Therefore, he could not 
enjoy the card-party as usual and took his departure 
early. The two men were filled with mutual an- 
imosity, without being able to give sufficient reason 
for the feeling. 

After the captain’s retirement, Bruno was abstract- 


262 


The Mask of Beauty. 


ed and thoughtful. He saw how the beauty of 
Catherine seemed everywhere to bring her only 
trouble and insult. He reproached himself for hav- 
ing giving her so little notice while he had caused 
her coming into the house. It was true that he was 
apprised of her fidelity and capability as a servant 
and of his sister’s training scheme. But he had never 
found out whether she was contented and happy 
in the strange, new home secured for her by him. 

When the company departed, he followed Eveline 
into her cosy sitting-room, and related to her the 
accidental presence of Catherine in his room and 
the unpleasant meeting with Captain Kahlbach 
afterward. But the lady was summoned away by 
a servant to give some order, in the midst of the 
narrative, and while she was absent Catherine came 
in, bearing some clothing of the baroness in her arms. 

Seeing Bruno, she hastened to his side, seized his 
right hand and, ere he could resist, kissed it twice 
with tenderness. 

‘‘ Why, why do you so, child ?” asked he in min- 
gled surprise and emotion. 

“ I want to thank you !” she said. 

“ Thank me ? For what ?” he asked 
Because — because you have stood by me !” she 
answered, blushing crimson. 

“ If anybody has been too impertinent why 
haven’t you, earlier, told me?” he cried. 

“ Oh, sir, that would not help me !” was the sad 
response, as she lowered her eyes. 

Both the words and tone of voice affected the 
heart of Bruno. 


The Mask of Beauty. 263 


“Who has dared to persecute you?” he said, while 
his blood boiled almost as if his sister had been 
offended. 

“ Alas !” she returned. “ To make much of it only 
does harm. “ But I knew .that, in great need, you 
would help me, for Frau Deik has often said that the 
poor and the unhappy help each other.” 

“ Are you then unhappy in this house ?” asked 
Bruno, with increasing interest. 

“No sir ! The place has nothing to do with hap- 
piness, for we all bring it with us into the world, 
you as well as I.” 

“ What do you say we bring into the world?” he 
returned breathlessly. 

Catherine looked infinitely surprised at the ques- 
tion, and repeated : 

“ Happiness and unhappiness !” 

“ What put such a thought in your head ?” he 
asked in wonder. 

“ Because you cannot bring back the lovely lady 
from the dead !” said she, with a sigh. 

The reply was incomprehensible to the young 
man. All the answers to his questions meant so 
much more than he asked that they gave him a 
kind of shivering sensation, which showed itself on 
his countenance. 

The girl, observing this shudder, and attributing 
it to grief for his lost love, said earnestly : 

“ If I could recall her to life with my death, how 
gladly would I do it !” 

“ Catherine, child !” ejaculated Bruno, with vis- 
ible feeling. 


264 


The Mask of Beaniy. 


“Yes, for there is no reason why I should live !” 
she added, as confirmation of her wish. 

The young man knew not what to say or do, for 
such a development had never entered his mind. 
As he did not reply, the girl went quickly into the 
sleeping-room of her mistress, and he, fearing to 
meet his sister, sought the stillness of his own 
apartment. His heart was filled with strange emo- 
tions. He realized himself beloved by a beautiful, 
innocent creature, for whom he felt not the slight- 
est return. He knew that one was ready and will- 
ing to sacrifice her life for him, whom he could 
never regard as other than the servant of his sister. 

Bruno was a man of purest honor and self-con- 
trol. Physical beauty, uncoupled with mental cul- 
ture, had never awakened his love, and his sincere 
grief for his lost betrothed had, since that event, 
protected him from the attractions which her social 
equals had tried upon him. From the moment in 
which he had taken the poor orphan under his care, 
he had promised himself to be her constant de- 
fender. And, now, the discovery of her devoted, 
passionate love failed to give the self-satisfaction 
which such a tribute evokes from lower natures. 
On the contrary, he was filled with concern, be- 
cause of the unconscious wrong he had done her, 
and tried to devise the best and kindest treatment 
for her case. 

His first thought was to remove her from his 
proximity, but he could not seriously consider the 
cruelty of thrusting her off among strangers. To 
deliberately condemn her to a change of surround- 


The Mask of Beauty. 


265 


ings, which is the hardest part of the lot of domes- 
ties, he could not persuade himself. And, as his 
noble nature cherished the desire to benefit the one 
whom he had unwittingly wronged, and as he be- 
lieved that he alone could do it, he decided to with- 
hold the secret from his sister. Besides, he feared 
that Eveline’s unnecessary zeal and watchfulness 
over the girl’s actions might reveal to her that her 
tender heart’s secret was discussed. 

Above all, his delicacy of feeling recoiled from 
telling even to his own sister that he was beloved 
by a woman, from whom everything separated him. 
vSo he determined to keep silence. 

Young, pure and honorable, he acted for the best, 
and trusted that his course would bring desired 
results. 

By keeping the girl near him and taking more 
interest in her thoughts and doings, be believed 
that he could prove to her how far they were separ- 
ated from each other by circumstances. Without 
arousing the suspicions of either sister or servants, 
he intended to speak to her oftener and more 
kindly, and the benevolent intention gave him 
contentment. 

Meantime, he did not fear that the unusual 
beauty of the maiden might make an impression 
on his heart. 

Next day, he began his training process by hav- 
ing the portrait of his deceased betrothed (which 
had hung veiled since her death in the boudoir of 
Eveline) uncovered. He wanted Catherine to see 
and know that his all was bound up with the dead. 


266 


The Mask of Beauty. 


To supplement its '"effect, he took occasion to tell 
her that the original had been his first, as she 
would be his last love. In this broad foundation 
he laid a well-concocted plan, whose results could 
scarcely be averted ; but, unfortunately, it was 
destined to speedy interruption. 

Only a few days after the portrait was unveiled, 
Bruno was taken sick. His ailment was treated by 
the physician, at first, as a trifling cold ; but, hourly 
and daily, it increased, until it became a case inter- 
esting to the medical adviser and alarming to the 
friends of the sufferer. An obstinate remittent fever, 
coming on every night and lasting until noon of next 
day, brought deliriousness to its victim and anxiety 
to his sister. During the few hours of lucid sense, 
Bruno begged his sister not to grieve but to be pa- 
tient and hope for his recovery. But with the 
shades of night come always sorrowful remem- 
brances and terrifying dreams. 

He stood once more by the dying bed of Marian. 
He saw her before him, beckoning him to follow; and 
he could not by all haste reach her. Sometimes he 
saw her flying over the beach, pursued and almost 
caught by Captain Kahlbach, and when he shot the 
wretch down with a gun, lo, it was not the captain but 
Karl, and, instead of Marian, Catherine fell, dead, in 
his arms, her hair encircled with myrtle wreath, just 
as his love’s had been in the coffin. Then he cried 
loudly : “ Catherine! Catherine !” and the servant, 
who watched by his bed, tried, in vain, to quiet him. 

With that obstinacy which fever causes in its vic- 
tims, he demanded the girl’s presence, and the 


The Mask of Beaidy, 


267 


domevStic was constrained to awaken her and make 
her take his place. 

But when she entered the room the sick man had 
fallen into a light sleep, and her predecessor gladly 
resigned his seat by the bed and sought rest in the 
adjoining apartment. 

Catherine was for the first time alone in the sick- 
chamber. Only now and then had she entered to 
bring this or that desired article to the baroness, 
and Bruno had only asked how she was, or thanked 
her for her kindness in doing so. But now she 
could stay — stay a long while — and it filled her heart 
with joy to be allowed to see and care for him. 

She sat down with inexpressible thankfulness on 
the footstool which the baroness had lately used for 
her feet. The lamp burned low, giving a mysteri- 
ous appearance to the bed. But she could make 
out the outlines of his noble, oval countenance, his 
brown, soft hair, his sunken cheeks and closed 
eyes. 

The sight of his suffering sent a pang of anguish 
to her heart, while she was rejoiced to look at him, 
to hear him breathe, to be near him. 

Awhile he lay quiet and then turned so that his 
face was hid. One hand fell from sheer weakness 
over the side of the bed, and its white, attenuated 
appearance struck her notice. She feared the hand 
was very hot, but she dared not touch it. But as 
all was so still she could not withstand the tempta- 
tion to lay her cheek against it lightly. 

That her action did not arouse him gave bold- 
ness. Looking around the room and toward the 


268 


The Mask of Beatity, 


^ ante-chamber whither the servant had gone with 
caution, she softl}’’ took hold of it and pressed it 
once and again to her lips. Bruno stirred, and she 
sank back like a frightened deer. As he raised 
hipiself and looked about him, he recognized the 
girl, and said in extreme surprise : 

“ How did you come here ?” 

“ You sent for me,” replied Catherine in alarm. 

“ I ? Sent for you T was the reply in the same 
tone of voice. 

“ Yes.” 

Her voice betrayed anxiety lest she should be 
sent away. 

Bruno did not reply. He lay still watching his 
nurse. After a little he asked for water, and when 
she reached him the glass he leaned his head against 
her as she beat up the pillows. 

The girl had never experienced such gladness 
before. • . 

As Bruno lay back on his pillows he held out his 
hand to her and said kindly : 

“ Thank you ! I want you to stay, if you are not 
too worn out, for Wilhelm has watched much !” 

Then he fell asleep again. Catherine watched 
through the dark, quiet night but, to her heart, there 
was light over all the earth. 




CHAPTER IX. 

From that time, Catherine shared the duty of 
nursing Bruno with the baroness and Wilhelm. As 
the patient grew better, he insisted upon Eveline’s 
driving out more and more ; and Wilhelm being her 
coachman, Catherine was left much with him. The 
young man utilized the opportunity to find out 
much of her former life, which the pastor had not 
known. Being weary of confinement and surround- 
ings, it pleased him to hear her tell, in her simple 
fashion, of her grandmother, of her native village, of 
Frau Deik and other things. After a while, she 
would, of her own accord, begin, when she sat down 
with her sewing by the bed, because she saw that 
her recollections were entertaining. The oftener 
she related the more interesting she became to her 
listener. He saw, from her revelations, what a 
fanciful foundation lay under the impressions of 
her mind, and also understood the mistakes which he 
and others had made concerning her. 

He had not supposed the girl to be so uncultured 
as she was, but her natural poetry of thought was 

[269] 


The Mask of Beauty, 


576 


remarkable in consideration of her origin and sur- 
roundings. The knowledge gained in childhood 
from the village schoolmaster was all that she had. 

This reading and writing had been kept up by 
her duties to Frau Deik, and she seemed to have no 
inclination to learn more. 

When he, one day, asked her whether she did not 
wish to get more learning, to his astonishment she 
replied. 

“ When I was small and foolish and imagined the 
wonders of my father’s native land, I wanted to 
know where countries were and that one especially, 
so that I might go to it. But since I know that there 
were no relations to go to, and have here learned 
from the baroness what I ought to know and see more 
of people than I like, I believe it would make people 
laugh to vSee me try to learn.” 

And when he tried to make her understand what 
advantage it would be to her to learn, she answered 
decisively : 

“ Such things are not for me. I have to work, 
and nothing else suits my condition.” 

And straightway she would relate the simple.st 
episodes out of her monotonous life with a* vivid- 
ness and power to which her scant vocabulary 
seemed to give aid rather than restraint. 

“ She is more entertaining to me than all the 
books in the world !” Bruno often told his sister 
when rehearsing to her these memories. She in- 
terests without exciting me, and I am amused to 
find myself so fully taken up with such a narrow 
circle — with such great limitation.” 


The Mask of Beauty, 


271 


He showed Eveline how impractical was her plan 
of educating the girl by allowing her to listen to such 
conversations as those of the painter and herself, and 
how unjust it was to force upon such a nature in- 
comprehensible things. 

He said that he was delighted because the girl 
had steadfastly refused to sit for her portrait. He 
asked his sister to be moved by his predilection 
and interest in so singular a nature to exhibit simi- 
lar feelings toward her. He was certain that her 
fidelity and skill had made her acceptable to his 
sister, but her endurance and watchfulness over 
sickness rendered her invaluable. He added that 
a housekeeper, in such times when the relation be- 
tween mistress and domestic was not close, could 
meet with nothing better than a servant whose 
highest ambition was to do her duty, and such ex- 
ceptional conduct deserved a gradual amelioration 
of position. 

Bruno indeed remembered poor Catherine’s love 
for him, which treatment as a member of the family 
would render more dangerous, but he consoled him- 
self with the conviction that he would never return 
it or would never take advantage of her and hoped 
that time and good sense would help her to con- 
quer it. 

There was only one thing that gave him misgiv- 
ings concerning the success of his attempt, and that 
was the dark superstition of Catherine’s mind that 
she was born for ill luck. 

When the new year arrived, the invalid was well 
enough to drive out at midday, and, often, when 


2J2 


The Mask of Beauty. 


he returned, he loved to sit on the stone gallery 
which ornamented the front of the house. Fur- 
nished with comfortable seats and fully shaded by 
the large, linden trees, this gallery was an inviting 
resting-place after riding in the sun. For the first 
time in these days of returning health, Bruno 
realized the pleasure of seeing the children playing 
on the pavements and the birds twittering in the 
trees, and pitied the inhabitants of Dantzig, whose 
houses were entered directly from the streets. 

One day, he had taken a long ride with his sister, 
and, as she lingered on a business street to do 
some shopping, he returned and took his usual 
seat on the gallery. Catherine, who was sitting at 
the window near by, sewing, brought out a pillow 
for his back and returned to her work. The bench 
was very near to the window, and Bruno feeling 
refreshed by the ride exclaimed : 

“ What a beautiful day !” 

“Yes, sir,” said Catherine. “ To-day is very fine, 
but how long will it last ? The winter is not over 
yet !” 

“ That is your bad habit,” replied Bruno, jestingly, 
“ to make life bitter by borrowing trouble. Now 
it is lovely out, and I am well ; and everybody 
ought to rejoice when he has a blessing. Whatever 
evil follows we must bear, but don’t think of it 
before it comes !” 

She only .shook her head lightly, as if she did 
not understand him. 

“ What do you mean ?” he asked. 

“I was just thinking that if we knew what is 


The Mask of Beauty. 


273 


fated to happen, what must come, we cannot forget 
it ; and, when we think of it, we cannot rejoice.” 

“ I don’t understand you !” was the answer. 

“ I don’t understand myself,” returned she ; “ but 
since the weather has been so fine, my heart has 
been the heavier. And — and because everything 
is well with me — and because you, sir, have 
gotten well, I am always fearing something will 
happen still — something to you or the baroness !” 

“ What a singular idea !” cried Bruno, though he 
felt a secret unpleasant emotion during her speech. 

“ I can’t explain it,” she said simply. “ I only 
know that I had a good mother and a grandmother, 
and both are dead. Frau Deik certainly meant 
well toward me, but what did it help ? Death is in 
the world, and bad men are too many in the world, 
so that no one is certain of his life nor of his hap- 
piness. He whom it once sets its seal upon loses all 
his friends and bears every evil. People in cities 
and with many occupations do not notice it about 
others, but those who suffer know it well. Your 
sister, the baroness, said it about you long before 
you were taken sick.” 

Bruno had long desired an explanation of her 
mysterious words about his and her bringing their 
luck into the world, and now he knew that his 
sister’s language had been misunderstood by the 
girl, and had strengthened her superstition. So he 
tried to explain the matter to her and soothe her 
fears, but the revelation of his sister’s thoughts 
concerning him were not pleasant. 

Catherine only replied with a sigh ; 


2 74 The Mask of Beauty, 


“ I would gladly believe what you say if I did not 
have such bad dreams about you and the baroness.” 

Bruno laughed heartily and said : 

“ Tell me one of your dreams about a black cat or 
a loose tooth, which you think is a bad sign.” 

“ Baron,” she answered solemnly, '‘don’t laugh. 
I have seen nothing in my dreams. I only heard 
the nails driven down on a coffin, as when my 
grandmother died, and I heard your sister weeping 
as she did while you were sick, and some one 
ordered me to carry the coffin to Hela, for it came 
from there.” 

“ Who ordered you ?” asked Bruno. 

“ I know not. I coutd not see him,” she answered, 
“ and that made it worse.” 

“ Banish such foolishness from your mind !” cried 
Bruno, earnestly. .But in spite of his words his 
spirits were affected by the girl’s narrative, and 
cold chills ran down his back. To conceal this weak- 
ness he complained of the air becoming too cool, 
and went into his room. The memory of Cather- 
ine’s dream lingered like a dark cloud upon his 
heart. He picked up a book to divert his mind, 
but found that he had finished it. He wandered 
aimlessly around the room for awhile, paused before 
his book-case and examined his store of reading. 
Not finding an 3 ^thing to suit him, he opened the 
door and asked Catherine to go to a neighboring 
book-store and bring a volume whose title he had 
previously given to the shop-keeper. 

Immediately she laid aside her work, and, taking 
hat and wrap, repaired to the desired place. But a 


The Mask of Beauiy. 


^75 


short time elapsed before she returned with the 
book and handed it to the baron. Noticing that 
her face was more heated and her manner more 
agitated than the short distance justified, he asked 
her why. 

At first she did not reply, but to his repeated 
question said : 

“ I have had a fright.” 

‘‘ Who has frightened you ?” asked Bruno, kindly. 

Catherine, like people of her class, springing at 
once into the midst of here tale, returned : 

“ I knew that something would happen to me, for 
my dreams were not in vain. I have often thought 
how it would be if I ever met any one from my 
native village, or even from Hela, but I did not 
think of seeing Christian.” 

“ Where did you meet him ?” he asked. 

‘ In the market ! Just as I came from the side 
street to the long market. I came upon him with 
other soldiers. I recognized him at once, and 
wanted to get out of his way, for ” — she hesitated — 

since I — ” She seemed to dread to speak out her 
thought, but finally said firmly : “ F6r when I 
came into the pastor’s house I saw him last.” 

Bruno understood and sympathized with her 
aversion to the subject, and replied quickly : 

“ Did he know you?” 

Yes, sir. I was only a few steps beyond him, 
when he called after me, and I turned around.” 

'' What did he say ?” 

“ He remarked upon my clothing, and wanted to 
know where I was going and where I lived.” 


276 


The Mask of Beauty, 


“ And did you tell him ?” asked Bruno, with 
interest. 

“ Yes, sir. He said, when he was at leisure, he 
wanted to come to see me, but I told him that I 
could not receive him, as I never left my mistress’s 
rooms except for an errand like the present. And 
he cannot soon get away, as he has, six weeks ago, 
entered the service of an officer.’ 

‘^What officer?” 

“Captain Kahlbach,” said she, coloring as she 
uttered the name. “ And, when I wanted to go on, 
Christian detained me with his talk about home, 
and the captain came up and asked whom he talked 
with. Seeing me, and hearing Christian say that 
we were from the same village, he did not ask any 
more, but sent regards to you and the baroness.” 
She turned away, leaving him troubled by the epi- 
sode, especially by the meeting with Captain Kahl- 
bach. Plainly moved by similar feelings, the girl 
lingered on the threshold, and asked timidly : 
“ Shall I speak to Christian?” 

“ About what ?” 

“ To ask him to be quiet and not tell the captain 
or any one else anything — I mean of Hela.” 

As she uttered the name her cheeks became dyed 
with the crimson of confusion. 

“ No, don’t trouble yourself about it,” answered 
Bruno. But, as she disappeared from sight, he 
called her back and said : “ When Christian comes 
here, send him to me. You understand? Right to me.” 

That evening the young man discussed the recent 
event with his sister. 


The Mask of Beauty. 277 


“ It is a very fortunate chance,” said Eveline, 
“ that has made us the guardians of the girl. I 
could not, while you were sick, tell you how useful 
and dear Catherine has become to me, and her skill 
as nurse, combined with her attractive appearance, 
has shown her to be a treasure to you. But I be- 
lieve that, when we took her into the house, we 
both betrayed a benevolent thoughtlessness that 
could be misconstrued. And I hear that people are 
casting insinuations against us on her account.” 

Bruno raised his face suddenly, and his brown 
eyes flashed resentment as he said, with a forced 
smile : 

Don’t trouble yourself about my reputation, and 
it is silly to speak of yours in such a connection.” 

* The baroness followed her brother’s example and 
smiled. So close was the relation of the two that 
the sister feared the influence of his deference to 
her wishes, as his childish guardian was still rest- 
ing upon him in responsible manhood, and quickly 
rejoined : 

“ Don’t imagine, dear Bruno, that gossips hold 
me accountable for your actions ! My brother’s 
penchant for my maid I do not dream of hindering. 
But the love of my maid for my brother, who would 
not by any possibility think of marrying her (or 
even the appearance of such an unhappy feeling), 
is very different. I am responsible for Catherine, for 
the poor orphan taken into my home, and people 
say that you are her lover, Bruno !” 

The young man, contrary to custom, laughed 
loudly and replied : 


The Mask of Beatdy. 


“ What a pity it is that I am not a woman — not 
your sister !” 

“ Why so?” asked Eveline, surprised. 

“You could then make fun of me without giving 
yourself concern of me !” was the answer. “ But,” 
he added seriously, “ dear Eveline, I will relieve 
your mind. If you think it impractical for me to 
remain under the same roof with the poor creature, 
I will immediately go away, and you will keep 
her with you until I can secure a refuge for her.” 

The baroness was completely surprised by the 
young man’s words. 

“You care much for the girl!” she answered 
impressively. 

“ Very much !” returned Bruno, directly. 

A pause ensued, during which both experienced 
emotions that they wished concealed. 

“Bruno, what would you do if I dismissed Cath- 
erine ?” asked the baroness at last. 

“ I would find some home for her in Dantzig, 
and see that she was cared for,” he answered with 
feeling. 

The baroness looked at him searchingly, and, 
with great effort, put the question : 

“ Do you love her?” 

This softened the brother’s heart. 

“ Don’t trouble either yourself or me with cares 
so groundless, dear. Eveline !” he said. “ If I had 
never loved and lost Marian, I could not be en- 
amored of a woman far below myself in culture, 
even were she prettier than Catherine and as good. 
But I have a sincere regard for the girl — I think 


The Mask of Beauty, 


279 


much about her — I care for her (call it what 5^ou 
will), and I am determined to protect her from 
harm, as becomes a man of honor and humanity.” 

“ But, is not this indiscretion ?” returned the 
baroness, with apparent relief. “ Is not — ” 

“ Don’t speak longer of it,” he interrupted. “ It 
is a fact. Catherine is my protegee ^ and nothing 
will alter it. Don’t you believe my character and 
your reputation can stand against the gossip of 
those whom you are wont to despise as authorities ? 
If you send Catherine away, I, alone, will take 
charge of her. But allow me to say that a woman ’s_ 
benevolence is worth little when she fears to aid 
the unfortunate, and does not assume the right to 
treat them according to her own convictions of 
duty.” 

The ' baroness was wavering. She loved her 
brother most tenderly, and took pride in his nobility 
of character, but now she found it hard to yield to 
his views. 

Bruno, you are turning the power you have so 
long held over me against our happiness,” she said 
in tender reproach. 

Would you have it otherwise ?” he asked, laugh- 
ing softly. Would you have me ruled by idle 
gossip ? Do you Vant me to do a great wrong 
because some woman, who looks on me as a catch 
for her daughter, is jealous of the poor, forlorn 
orphan ?” 

'' They are not only women who talk about you, 
but men,” said Eveline, quickly. “ Men. and such 


men — 


28 o 


The Mask of Beauty. 


Men who have a right to superintend my affairs 
will come to me and I will settle with them,” inter- 
rupted Bruno, but that does not ^Iter your treat- 
ment toward Catherine.” 

With these words he rose to leave the room, and 
Eveline observed how vexed he was. P'or a long 
while she had conquered her judgment and inclina- 
tion about warning her brother of current reports. 
Now she had done her duty, and as his conduct was 
unalterable, she asked : 

‘‘ Do you think that I could got ready to leave in 
two weeks ?” 

“ To go to your castle?” 

“I thought I would like to go there for awhile if 
I could leave you so well as you are now.” 

“ Will you take Catherine ?” was the anxious 
query. 

Eveline approached her brother and. embraced 
him tenderly. 

“ Dear Bruno, trust my love to you,” she said. 

I have no one on earth to cherish but you, and all 
my actions are prompted by care for your good. 
How fervently do I long for your happiness ! 
Believe that I am the same Eveline that watched 
over your childish life, and now, as then, will not 
yield an inch where injustice rises against you.” 

“ I trust you fully,” replied the young man in 
cheerful tones, as he pressed a kiss upon her brow 
and left the room. 



CHAPTER X. 

That same evening, while Christian was helping 
Captain Kahlbach to undress, that shrewd man 
asked him where and what he knew of Catherine. 

The unsuspicious servant began by saying that 
he knew her under strange circumstances, and — 
partly to obey his master, partly from love of speak- 
ing about the girl — he told everything concerning 
her former relations. Naturally she was placed in 
the light of his own narrow impressions, but he did 
not conceal his lifelong attachment to her. 

“ If she only would have — or would, now — ” 
Christian ceased, in confusion. 

'‘Only would do what?” returned the captain, 
whose clever questions had revealed the simple fel- 
low’s heart. 

“ If she only would, captain !” repeated he. “ It 
is true that I can not take her back to my home 
now ; but this day — if she only would, sir. I don’t 
know what I would do for joy !” 

“ Wasn’t she willing ?” 

“ I thought it was all over,” continued Christian, 
as if soliloquizing. “But many a time, when I 

[281] 


282 


The Mask of Reauiy. 


think of the possibility, I almost lose my senses. 
Now, she is again — ” 

He suddenly ceased and shook his head. He 
hardly knew what he was saying. 

The captain, by way of helping him to expres- 
sion, put in : 

“You mean, now that you have seen her again, 
that you want to marry her.” 

Christian was one of those natures which do not 
like to give direct, quick replies. He hung up the 
uniform of his master on its appropriate peg in the 
wardrobe, took down the civilian dress from a nail 
on the wall, and, only when he was safely behind 
the captain’s back, helping him with his coat, did 
he say : 

“ I cannot take her home. But if I go to see her 
again. I have thought about it all day. If I stay 
here in service it might happen.” 

Meantime, the^captain had approached the table 
and examined the pistols which he had used the 
day before on the glass-ball shooting, to see if they 
had been properly cleaned. He took up one in his 
right hand, raised it aloft, clicked the trigger, and 
aimed it at the opposite wall. Then he laughed 
harshly and said : 

“ Foolish fellow, dismiss such a thought from 
your mind ! The girl is not for you !” 

Christian stood unmoved and regarded his mas- 
ter as if he did not comprehend his words. The 
other, seeming to regard his discomfiture as a good 
joke, repeated. 

“ I tell you she is not for you but for another !” 


The Mask of Beauty, 


283 


and added with the ugly familiarity which he often 
indulged toward his inferiors in position : “ I say for 
another.” 

“ Captain !” ejaculated Christian, but emotion 
choked further expression. 

“You told me about the officer’s Catharine, her 
mother ; now, the daughter has followed her ex- 
ample. There are men in that house as well as 
here !” 

“ Captain !” repeated the other in a tone of pain, 
while he turned pale and grasped the table by 
which he stood. 

“ What ’s the matter ?” cried the master approach- 
ing him. 

“Pardon, sir, it is nothing!” gasped the young 
man, though his looks denied his words. 

“Drink cold water!” commanded he, and Chris- 
tian left the room to obey. 

When the man reached his own room he was 
overwhelmed with rage and grief. He snatched 
his saber from the wall, and bent over it with such 
force as to snap it in two. Then he picked up the 
pieces and flung them on the floor with utmost 
strength- and shivered them anew. At last, com- 
pletely unmanned, he threw himself upon the bed, 
buried his face in the pillows and sighed and 
groaned like a wounded animal. Thus he spent 
the entire night. Morning found him unrefreshed 
and melancholy. He dreaded the clear light of 
day as much as if his honor had been lost. He 
could not place his thoughts upon his duties. Cap- 
tain Kahlbach, who had entirely forgotten Chris- 


284 


The Mask of Beauty. 


tian’s emotion of the previous evening, paid no 
more than a momentary attention to his singular 
conduct. 

There was one other person in Dantzig who slept 
little that night. Bruno’s decision to interview 
Christian, founded upon Catherine’s revelation, was 
strengthened by his sister’s giving him the re- 
sponsibility of managing her affairs. That night, 
as he lay awake and brooded over the matter, he 
concluded that it would be dangerous to trust to a 
mere chance of seeing Chri.stian and giving him 
the desired warning. Early next morning, he sent 
a summons to him to appear at the earliest oppor- 
tunity. 

About mid-day the visitor entered Bruno’s room. 
The grateful shade of the linden-trees was spread 
over the gallery, and a cool, refreshing breeze 
stirred their leaves, as Christian was ushered into 
the house. The apartment of the lieutenant was 
large and handsome. Lofty panels, browned by 
age, adorned the walls, and the ceiling was set off 
by the rich carving found in all houses of the nobil- 
ity and equally indicative of riches and refinement. 
The harmony and massiveness of the furniture and 
curtains made a striking impression upon the eye. 
Bruno was seated by the table in a brilliant uni- 
form, that fitly set off his handsome, noble count- 
enance. 

Christian had come from drill, burning with heat 
and covered with dust, to receive the command to 
visit the residence of Lieutenant Von Horst, but, 
burning from anger and scorn, he now stood before 


The Mask of Beauty, 


285 


his hated enemy. He had several times before seen 
him on parade, but did not recognize him as a for- 
mer acquaintance. But, in the subdued light of the 
handsome surroundings, he suddenly identified him 
as the stranger who had sat on the pastor’s porch 
and offered him money to summon a physician to 
Catherine. A shudder ran over his frame, and he 
realized the cause of his trouble during the past 
night and day. He thought to himself how much 
better it would have been for the girl to have died, 
and he felt as if he could gladly murder the man 
before him. Possessed with such feelings, he gave 
the military salutation required, and stood silently 
by the door. Bruno, attributing his actions to em- 
barrassment, moved a few steps toward him, and said: 

“ I have sent for you both to give you a piece of 
advice and to make a request of you.” Christian 
did not move. “ I recognize you as one of a brave 
company,” continued Bruno, “ and also as the sailor 
who went for the doctor to attend Catherine when 
I was staying at the pastor’s house in Hela. She 
has since told me that you were raised together — 
that your father was her guardian and that you like 
her. If these things are so, I ask you not to speak 
to any one here of what happened to the girl in 
Hela. You are sure that she was innocent of the 
accusations brought against her, but if you tell 
them they will be used against her here. Take 
care !” 

“ And you ?” asked Christian, still holding his 
position and looking at the lieutenant with vindic- 
tive glance. 


286 


The Mask of Beauty, 


“ I am done,” answered Bruno, who resented the 
fellow’s manner, and believed that more was to be 
gotten from him by command than entreaty. But 
his opponent did not show any inclination to obey, 
and answered : ' 

“ Have the goodness to let me speak to her.” 

‘‘ What do you wish ?” returned Bruno, with 
visible impatience. 

“ I want to hear from herself how she is, and what 
she wants from me !” 

“ She has already told you how she is, and what 
she wants from you, I have just told you. She 
begs you not to speak of her to others !” said Bruno, 
with an intonation of vexation in his voice, because 
he saw that his word was doubted by his subordinate, 
and he feared to rebuke him in such a critical mo- 
ment. “ If you have other request, make it !” 

“ Be so kind, lieutenant, as to let me see her,” 
repeated the other with earnestness, “ because I am 
the son of her guardian, and she wants something 
from me !” 

Such obstinacy Bruno had not expected, and he 
replied firmly : 

‘‘You can and shall not speak to her, for you 
had part in what happened in Hela. If you want 
to tell about the poor’s girl’s past and have her dis- 
cussed by every one, do so ; but, if you are a 
man of honor and feel kindly toward her, keep 
silence.” 

Christian did not reply, and a pause of a few 
seconds ensued. 

“ I have nothing more to say, and you may go 1 


The Mask of Beauty. 


287 


Only remember what I have said !” added Bruno, 
impressively. 

Christian left the house in silence, but he was 
determined to see and speak to Catherine at any 
cost. 

The lieutenant felt a great fear lest his design 
had fully failed, and looked forward with anxiety 
to the pl-oposed departure of his sister to the 
country. 

Meantime, Christian felt no rest. Every moment 
of leisure he had was spent lingering near the 
house of Baroness Rettfeld, in hopes of seeing 
Catherine. But many disappointments did he 
experience, since she seldom left the house and 
never worked on the first floor. 

Finally, on the last Sunday the baroness intended 
to stay in Dantzig, he came once more into the 
street. The day had been unusually warm, all 
windows were raised, and many had walked or 
ridden out. Here and there sat maids upon the 
galleries, singly or in groups, who had been left 
in charge of houses, and wherever any of the other 
sex were mingled in the companies, mirth and 
enjoyment disturbed the otherwise quiet street. 

More than an hour the young man watched be- 
fore the dwelling of the baroness, and darkness had 
fallen ere the door was opened and the long-desired 
object stepped out and sat down upon the stone- 
bench nearest the lieutenant’s window. 

Christian had just before her appearance seen by 
his watch that his leave of absence was almost out, 
so he hastened to accost the girl. 


^88 


The Mask of Bea2iiy. 


vShe was alone in the house, as all the other 
servants had taken holiday, and her mistress had 
gone to pay a farewell visit to friends in a distant 
part of the city. It was because she was minutely 
expecting this lady’s return that she sought the 
gallery so late. 

Startled by Christian’s salutation, her first impulse 
was to re-enter the house ; but on second thoughts 
she exclaimed : 

“ It is good that you have come, because I have 
something on my heart to tell you. I — ” 

“ No, nothing to tell me,” he interrupted, passion- 
ately, “ but I will tell you something, and you shall 
stand and defend yourself !” 

“ To you ?” asked she, with a feeling of scorn ris- 
ing in her breast akin to the sensation of childhood. 

“ Yes, to me,” repeated he, trying to take her 
hand. “ People say — they say that all is not right 
between you and the lieutenant.” 

“ Christian !” gasped she, in protest. 

“ They say that all is not right between you and 
the lieutenant,” repeated he, solemnly. 

“ Who ? Who says it ?” cried she in a voice full 
of anguish. 

“ That is all one to you who says it,” he replied. 
“The point is is it true or false ?” 

“ It is false — all false !” was the assurance, which 
bore such convincing truth in its tone as to allevi- 
ate the young man’s anxiety. 

In a much altered voice he asked : 

“ And is there nothing at all between you — between 
you and him ?” 










The Mask of Beauty. 


289 


She opened her lips to reply, but could not speak. 
He waited as long as his patience lasted for her, 
and then said : 

“ How is it with you and the lieutenant, Cath- 
erine ?” 

Her battle with self was concluded, and victory 
won. With difficulty she replied in a short, dry way : 

“ Just as with you and me !” 

“Just as with you and me?” was the astonished 
rejoinder. 

“ Yes,” she returned firmly. “ And now don’t 
trouble me more. I know that he is my master and 
can never be other, but if I were to live a hundred 
years, and if he never were to know it, I can and 
never will forsake him. Now leave me and go 
away satisfied. My lot is no better than yours, but 
I ask no better. Good night !” 

Christian stood as if nailed to the floor, and 
caught her by the arm to detain her. He felt as if 
he had received a heavy blow upon the head, and 
his senses were impaired thereby. 

“ Is this your last word ?” he asked very slowly, 
as if to give her time to reflect. “ Is this your last 
word ?” 

“ I cannot help it, and I cannot lie,” she said, 
while her voice trembled with emotion. “ I have 
often thought how it would hurt you to hear it. I 
knew that you had not forgotten me and would help 
me now if I would ask it. But it is just so, and 
must stay through eternity so. For I was born to 
have ill-luck, and I cannot alter it.” 

“Then may God help you!” cried Christian, 


290 


The Mask of Beauty. 


loosing his hold and walking away without looking 
back. 

The girl did not know whether his words were 
intended for a blessing or a curse. Her knees trem- 
bled, and she fell back upon the seat. 

But when the carriage drove up with the baron- 
ess and her brother, and they asked the usual ques- 
tion, Has anything happened ?” she could not 
summon courage to tell what was so painful, and 
answered : 

Nothing." 




CHAPTER XL 

The departure of Baroness Rettfeld from Dant- 
zig, instead of quelling gossip, gave fresh impetus 
to it. It was said that Bruno’s sickness had been 
caused by his sister’s opposition to his passion for 
her servant. Again it was remarked that, since the 
baroness had rewarded the girl’s fidelity in nursing 
him beyond what was natural, it was evident that 
she was gradually paving the way for the marriage 
of the two. Her present visit to the castle was con- 
strued as made for the preparations incident to such 
an event, as it was conceded that now, as in Bruno’s 
previous betrothal, he designed to live in the coun- 
try. Already many were imagining “the maid of 
Hela,” as she was scornfully called, as a lady and 
sister-in-law of the elegant baroness, whose singular 
condescension was alone attributable to blind love 
for her only brother. 

And to this, a report began to circulate that Cath- 
erine had been driven from her former home for 
bad conduct, and this threw a suspicious light upon 
all former tales. Of course, the baroness, in her 
retirement, heard none of such rumors, and Bruno 
was not the kind of man to listen to them. 

The person who shows unwillingness to listen 

[291] 


292 


The Mask of Beauty. 


hears little, but he cannot help forming disagree- 
able impressions from the actions of others. 

No sooner had his sister and Catherine left than 
Bruno reentered fhe service and returned to his 
usual mode of life. 

But outside of service he held little intercourse 
with his comrades and without seeming to avoid 
any had few intimate acquaintances. Prior to his 
loss, he had been accustomed to dining or supping 
with this or that one in restaurants or (during his 
sister’s absence) to repairing to coffee-houses, where 
he knew that his friends would be or come. But, 
since Marian’s death, though he had seldom met 
with them, the misfortunes, which evoked the sym- 
pathy of the noblest of his comrades, made him an 
object of especial interest and attention. Now, he 
noticed a decided alteration of tone and manner 
toward him. When he entered a wonted resort the 
conversation of formal, cordial friends was stilted 
and cold, and, not unfrequently, his appearance 
brought a knowing smile to many faces. Mothers 
of marriageable daughters, who had before trusted 
their children to his escort most gladly, altered 
their demeanor, and young widows and girls who 
had been so much impressed with the duty of 
entertaining the unfortunate baron suddenly for- 
got to fulfill their obligations. But Bruno did not 
at first see the real cause of these changes. He 
could well see how his inveterate reserve might 
discourage or amuse his comrades, and he did not 
blame the women for tiring of so thankless an 
avocation as entertaining him. Soon, however, his 


293 


The Mask of Beauty. 


better judg'^ment decided that there was other 
reason for the various actions. Many small things 
tended to open his eyes to the truth. Two young 
ladies, who had been intimate friends of Marian’s 
in childhood and were invited by the baroness to 
spend some weeks with her in the country, declined 
on the flimsy excuse of not being able to part from 
their mother. Another girl to whom Bruno said 
that he was going to pay a visit of a few days 
answered meaningly that he would not go to Hela 
this time. Lastly, he received a letter from the 
pastor of Hela, informing him that a Dantzig 
journalist had written to inquire of the Biirger- 
meister whether the current report was true — that 
a present servant of Baroness Rettfeld in Dantzig 
had been, a year or more before, driven from the 
town as a witch. The good man added that he had, 
by request of the Biirgermeister^ replied that the 
episode, was the result of hasty, ignorant supersti- 
tion directed against an innocent, honorable girl, 
and that he deemed the wisest plan to be that of 
not noticing it in print. Notwithstanding this, 
two weeks later, the weekly newspaper of greatest 
merit brought out an article on the subject, entitled 
“Shameful Consequences of vSuperstition,” whose 
author was the physician of the regiment and an 
intimate friend of Captain Kahlbach’s. It was one 
of those cruel thrusts which are the more baneful 
because nothing is asserted but much insinuated, 
and the absence of names aided rather than pre- 
vented the identification of the chief actor with 
poor Catherine. 


294 


The Mask of Beauty. 


Soon after the appearance of the articles, Bruno 
repaired late one evening to a restaurant to eat an 
ice while he read the papers. A group of soldiers 
were sitting before the door on the gallery, but, as 
he felt no inclination to converse, he saluted and 
passed in. 

He secured the papers and took a chair in the 
corner of the room. The window nearest to him 
happened to be open, and very soon two men of 
those outside separated themselves from the others, 
and evidently stood under the orifice as they con- 
versed. 

“ What has he got to do with the cursed witch’s 
story that he follows her so closely ?” asked one. 

“ It is not the witch’s story but the witch,” re- 
turned the other. “ You don’t know him, if you 
think he will ever give up anything he has taken 
into his head. Now he has no other thought ex- 
cept the girl. Wherever he is he is troubled about 
her, and hence comes his aversion to — ” ° Here he 
softly whispered Bruno’s name. 

The unwilling listener recognized the voices of 
the regiment physician and his brother, who was edi- 
tor of the paper which published the unkind article. 

“ But what has the captain against him ?” asked 
the journalist. 

“Why, he is odious to him !” said the physician. 
“ His opposite in everthing ! But it is not only to 
the captain that the fellow displays his imperti- 
nences in that polite way of his ! I might say that 
he acts as if he was made of superior material, and, 
if it must be, then — ” 


The Mask of Beauty, 


295 


Here his voice was lowered so that no more words 
were audible, but there must have been something^ 
both insulting and amusing to evoke the laughter 
of his companion as it did. Bruno rose quickly 
and left the house by the rear door, which opened 
on another street, angered by the accident which 
had revealed the existence of an enemy and broken 
up the freedom of his actions. Thus he began to 
observe closely both the deeds and words of his com- 
rades, and his distrust became strengthened. His 
position was clearly an unpleasant one. Hereto- 
fore valued by all as a man of honor and courage, 
he realized that secret dislike now existed because 
of the many jests, remarks and insinuations from 
the lips of former admirers, too trifling to notice or 
demand satisfaction for. But to a young man who 
had always enjoyed a position of honorable recog- 
nition and regard, these pricks of ill-will were 
doubly annoying. More than once he was on the 
point of resenting some indignity, but an instant’s 
reflection decided him not to give his opponents 
the pleasure of seeing their object accomplished. 
He did not wish to bring himself into a position 
which would necessitate Catherine’s banishment 
from his sister’s house. He received the jests with 
proud self-control, and the victory over his feelings 
strengthened his determination not to interpret 
them otherwise than they were given. Had he 
never before taken interest in Catherine’s fate, he 
would now have thought it due to his self-respect to 
protect her. And as every sacrifice made for one 
by another mortal binds them closer, so the covert 


296 


The Mask of Beauty. 


attacks, which he bore for Catherine’s sake, made 
her nearer and dearer to his heart. 

In the retirement of country life, the baroness 
found the girl more lovable than before. Freed 
from the narrow city and the impertinence of men, 
Catherine resumed some of the liveliness and 
naturalness of old times. She executed all her 
duties with the same fidelity but more interest, 
and the baroness, being much alone with her, 
gradually depended upon her intercourse with her 
for pleasure. More than a year’s residence under 
the same roof afforded many subjects of common 
interest. 

The discussion of return to the city, of the 
many preparations for the coming winter, reminded 
Eveline' of the days in which she prepared the 
castle for her brother and his bride. She once 
showed Catherine the bridal chamber, which had 
never been opened since Marian’s death, and, when 
the girl wondered at its beauty, she said fervently : 

“ God grant that my brother may soon enter it !” 

“ Will the baron leave the city?” asked Catherine, 
with interest. 

“ Certainly, when he is married ! I only wish it 
would soon come and give him some pleasure in 
life !” returned the mistress. 

The girl did not immediately reply. At last, she 
asked : 

“ But if the baron takes a wife, what will you 
do?” 

“ What will I do ?” said the baroness, surprised. 
“ I don’t understand you !” 


The Mask of Beauty. 


297 


“ I mean that you would not have him to your- 
self,” explained she. 

What does that matter, if he is happy — ” 

‘‘ I could not stand it !” cried the girl, so passion- 
ately that the baroness regarded her in astonish- 
ment. 

Are you then envious?” asked the mistress, in 
a jesting tone. 

But Catherine was too much moved to observe 
the tone, and continued earnestly : 

At home I never noticed it, but since my com- 
ing to Dantzig I have often felt it, and I believe I 
must be envious.” 

“ Envious? And of what?” 

Of everybody — but above all of Frau Beier.’ 

What have you against the good woman ?” 

“ If ever I did anything,” answered she, “ and 
you said that Frau Beier had done it better, I felt 
so anxious lest you would be angry and send me 
away. That was at first. But afterward, when the 
baron was taken sick and Wilhelm and Frau Beier 
were allowed to wait on him, while I could not, on 
my knees I have often gotten and prayed that I 
might see him as — because — ” she hesitated as if 
bewildered, and scarcely knowing what she said, 
added — and no one should envy me for it, because 
he is my friend.” 

The baroness did not reply, but cast such a 
searching glance upon the girl as to cause her to 
blush from embarrassment and turn away her head. 

The discovery of Catherine’s secret gave her the 
greatest surprise and trouble. But while she was 


298 


The Mask of Beauty, 


debating whether she would reveal or conceal it, 
Bruno unexpectedly made his appearance. He had 
never before conquered his aversion to the place 
connected with his blighted hopes, and Eveline, in 
the midst of her joy, feared the effect of the spot 
upon his spirits. But contrary to expectation, he 
was cheerful and loquacious beyond what was 
natural. 

He had conversed with his sister only a few 
moments before he inquired with singular vivacity 
after Catherine, and in his smile on learning that 
she was well lurked a mystery that alarmed her. 

But she tried to repress the feeling, and related 
to him her impressions of the girl, ending with a 
warning to him against taking too much interest in 
her. 

“ The girl is warm-hearted, Bruno,” she added, 
argumentatively, “ and her gratitude to you has too 
much of the passionate character for her own good.” 

‘‘ I know it — have long known it,” he answered, 
with that feeling which made all his words peculiar 
to-day. 

And you have concealed it from me ?” asked 
Eveline, with reproach in her tone. 

I feared your interference and thought it best 
for us both for her to cling to me as she does, and 
me to return the feeling in a certain sense.” 

This was said in a tone which left th^ listener 
doubtful of his real emotion. She felt that he was 
altered in some way and would not bear contradic- 
tion, and she decided to wait and observe his 
demeanor. 


The Mask of Beauty, 


i)99 


When Catherine entered the room her manner 
toward the young man was as respectful and shrink- 
ing as ever. The only difference in her salutation 
was that, when he gave her his hand, she did not 
kiss it but held it, while he inquired after her 
health. But often, during the day, his eyes fol- 
lowed her movements with interest and, whenever 
he was near her, he made many inquiries about 
things that concerned her daily routine. These 
small events strengthened the uneasiness of Eve- 
line about the state of his heart. 

When the cool of the evening arrived, Bruno 
asked his sister to take a walk through the meadow 
with him. She gladly agreed, feeling both that the 
fresh air would alleviate her oppression and that 
her brother had some confidence to make. They 
had not proceeded far from the castle and Eveline 
was thinking how she could best open the conver- 
sation, when Bruno said : 

“ How strange is mortal life ! Never did I feel 
the truth more forcibly than this moment ! The 
last time I traversed this route it was by Marian's 
side, and every tree — every shrub reminded me of 
her. But a few days ago I would have thought it 
impossible to saunter here without deepest sorrow, 
but here I am, and, though I think of my lost love 
with tenderness, the edge of grief is broken by its 
remoteness from the present. Such is the tyran- 
nical and powerful effect of time." 

“ You tell me that you are calmer concerning the 
past, but I observe that you are unusually moved 
about something to-day. What has happened 


300 


The Mask of Beauty. 


“ honor has been impugned,” said he directly, 
and I want your assistance in finding a way to de- 
fend it. I have come here to get your advice.” 

The baroness was dreadfully shocked, but as 
there was no time to be lost when a direct appeal 
was awaiting answer, she replied : 

“ What has happened that I can help you with ?” 

For an- instant Bruno reflected, and then said : 

“ I have often spoken with you of the silly gossip 
concerning Catherine’s residence in our house, and 
you, doubtless, remember the recent article I sent 
you, giving an account of her departure from Hela, 
in which truth and falsehood were so cleverly 
mixed as to deceive any one ! But you and I both 
have always held ourselves superior to such meddle- 
some rumors and not attempted to contradict 
them. A few days ago, however, the colonel came 
up to me on the parade ground and, with his usual 
politeness, asked me to give him an interview as 
soon as possible. When I went, he first asked 
after you and your affairs here, and then if I had 
decided to retire to this place in the fall. I told 
him that the death of my betrothed had entirely 
altered my plans, and felt astonished that the 
colonel, who had formerly urged my remaining in 
service, showed no pleasure now to hear it. He 
hesitated a little, and added that he had no desire 
to meddle with the private affairs of his officers — 
that he had known me from childhood, and loved 
and honored you. Then he paused again, and 
brought out with a certain hardness that, if I 
wanted to remain in the regiment, I must drive 


Tkc Mask of Beauty. 


301 


Catherine from the house ; and, when I wished to 
protest, he cried : 

.“‘Dear Bruno, take things as they are. You 
have done no great sin ; for all of us have been 
young and seen charming women. The regiment 
does not contain a corps of saints by any means. 
But it is very improper for you to openly keep in 
your house a creature who was made so conspicuous 
in Hela, and whose history has been recently pub- 
lished in the Dantzig papers. It has aroused resent- 
ment, perhaps, among those who want to get your 
present position, and you would not like to have 
an affaire d'honneiir about it !’ ” 

The young man spoke quickly and passionately, 
and his sister listened with anxious suspense. When 
he paused, she hastily asked : • 

“ What did you answer ?” 

“ There was only one thing to answer,” said he, 
regarding her quietly, “ and that was that I would 
regard, as an affaire d'Jionneur, and defend to my 
best ability the freedom of my own business — that 
I would make it an affaire d'honneur to prevent my 
household matters from being interfered with by 
extraneous insolence and meanness !” 

As Eveline did not reply, he continued : 

“ After that I told him how I met Catherine and 
brought her to you, and how, good and honorable 
she is. I added that I would have procured her 
another home had I suspected what trouble her 
presence in yours would bring on her. But I 
assured him that I would not be induced by the 
soldiers’ influence to cast her off. I told him that I 


302 


The Mask of Beauty, 


would despise myself if I were to try to preserve 
my and your honor by following what I did not 
recognize as right. So, Eveline, the only question 
I have to ask you is whether, under the circum- 
stances, you will dismiss the girl.” 

The baroness had become very sad, and answered 
after a slight pause : 

“ What a dreadful thing it is !” 

“ It is not agreeable,” returned Bruno, consolingly, 
“ but it has the merit of forcing us to a decision.” 

“ You will have to suffer much for it,” said she, 
with tender thought for his good. 

“ That may or may not be, but it has nothing to 
do with the question,” he said simply. “ The point 
is — shall Catherine go or stay ? I must leave that 
decision to you to make first, and other things can 
be later considered.” 

“ From whom has the report come ?” asked 
Eveline, trying to postpone the momentous words. 

“ You know as much about it as I, dear Eveline,” 
returned he. “ And besides, it is of no consequence 
to know.” 

The baroness dreaded to speak openly what she 
felt. At last she said : 

“ If I dismiss Catherine now I will give support 
to the declarations of malice, though I affirm that 
she is honorable and virtuous. But — answer me this 
question, dear brother, plainly — are you sure of 
your feelings toward her ?” 

“ What a question !” cried he. 

“ Don’t you love her ? Don’t you think of marry- 
ing her ?” she persisted. 


The Mask of Beauty. 


303 


Bruno’s brow darkened as he replied : 

“ You almost drive me to do it ! You almost 
compel me to protect her with my honorable name 
against the overwhelming storm of injustice.” 

How little does a mortal know of the future !” 
exclaimed his sister. “ Who would have thought 
that we were doing anything but the right — the 
good — in protecting the girl from the senseless 
superstitions of her enemies ?” 

‘ And was, it not good and right?” asked Bruno 
solemnly. “ Can it cease to be right because it has 
brought upon us disagreeable consequences, and we 
find it hard to hold to it ?” 

The baroness could not speak. A great struggle 
was going on within her heart. She saw and 
realized what would be the result of her approval 
of and aid to her brother’s views. In her tender love 
for him, she trembled for his welfare. She dared 
not express her mental anxiety to the young man, 
lest she might confirm his will. But with the 
rapid instinct of her sex, she knew that the de- 
cision of the matter must be made by her. Should 
she leave her brother to settle the affairs of Cath- 
erine, both his and her honor would forthwith be 
the forfeit. But if she cast all the weight of her 
spotless reputation and worthy character in favor 
of the girl and of her brother, it was possible that 
the result would be for the desired end. The 
thought of helping her only brother gave relief 
from the momentary depression, and, with the 
gentleness that characterizes all female self-sacri- 
fices, she replied : 


304 


The Mask of Beauty. 


“ You are right, dear Bruno ! I alone can render 
you assistance. I will soon return to Dantzig and 
bring Catherine with me. But she shall, hereafter, 
appear as my companion instead of servant. I in- 
tend to have her go in public with us, walking or 
driving, and thus prove that she is not your mis- 
tress. Everybody shall see that, and there are 
many friends to sustain our action.’’ 

As she read the deep gratitude of Bruno in his 
eyes, joy filled her breast that she had fulfilled his 
wishes. And ere they returned to the house, all 
plans were discussed for most speedily accomplish- 
ing the desired result. The baroness, as soon as 
she reached the city, would go shopping on mar- 
ket days and take the orphan with her — she would 
have her go riding with Bruno and herself and 
occupy the back seat with herself — she would send 
her to a clerical, learned man for instruction. 
(They confidently hoped that her hold upon dreams 
and superstitions was fast loosing under enlighten- 
ing influences.) After a sojourn of some weeks in 
the city, she would take a journey and give the 
girl the advantage of seeing something of the 
world. She did not lose sight of the difficulties 
and embarrassments that would naturally follow 
such a novel course of action, but their annoyance 
would be endurable in consideration of the im- 
portance of the undertaking. Influenced by the 
power of such good intention, the sister and broth- 
er experienced earnest satisfaction and separated 
with the hope that all would end well. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Baroness Rettfeld kept her word about returning 
to the city. Early in August, just when the Domi- 
nik Fair opened, she reached Danzig. 

This fair, which is known in West Prussia by the 
name of Dominik, draws an immense number of 
people from city and country, from high and low 
class, from far and near. The streets, gayly decked 
with rows of booths, scarcely afford standing room 
for their visitors, and mirth and life prevail. All 
public houses and many private ones are full to 
overflowing. 

The third day of this gay festival is the most 
interesting of all, because it coincides with the 
regular weekly market day, and those who have 
brought things for sale remain to make purchases. 
On this particular occasion a heavy thunderstorm 
drove all into inns and shops for the entire morn- 
ing, and only toward nightfall were the streets suf- 
ficiently dry to be reoccupied. The salesmen hastily 
reopened their wares of porcelain, glass and the 
thousand other articles usually displayed in mar- 
kets. 


[305] 




3o6 


The Mask of Beauty. 


About eight o’clock in the evening the baroness, 
with Bruno and Catherine, returned from a pleasure 
drive and descended from her vehicle before a 
linen-draper’s booth to execute some small business. 
While the baroness was occupied, Bruno com- 
menced a conversation with two lady acquaintances 
standing by, and Catherine was left to observe and 
admire the novel sights around her. As her eyes 
moved about, they fell upon Captain Kahlbach, 
who was standing in a group of military men near 
by, and, instantly realizing that he recognized her, 
she turned her back and pressed close to her mis- 
tress’s side. But scarcely had she made the move- 
ment before a loud voice cried : 

“ Zounds, Catherine ! How did you come here ?” 

Thare was no mistaking the drunken tones of 
Karl Deik, as he added ; 

“ Here she is (hiccough), here she is ! The (hic- 
cough) officer’s Catherine — the lady !” 

He was leaning heavily upon Christian’s arm and 
leering at her with blood-shot eyes. 

All bystanders became attentive. The baroness 
hastily seized Catherine’s arm and led her away, 
while Bruno placed himself between them and the 
drunken fellow. 

‘‘ Carry him off !” he said to Christian. '' Don’t 
you see he can’t stand up?” Then turning to 
several other soldiers, he added : “ Go, help to carry 
him !” 

But Karl had recognized him and, forcing himself 
forward^ exclaimed, with the shamelessness con- 
sistent with his condition : 


The Mask of Beauty. 


307 


“ Carry whom, man ? Whom, I say ? We are no 
longer in the pastor’s house ! I have as much right 
here as you ! And the witch — Catherine — the 
woman who has not been — who has not — ” 

Losing what he wanted to say, he reeled onward 
and, partly consciously, partly by accident, caught 
Bruno by the shoulder. 

Trembling with indignation, the young man 
thrust him off. 

Now, Christian, in spite of his anger against the 
lieutenant, attempted to fulfill his order. 

But coercion only infuriated Karl, and curiosity 
having drawn together a crowd of observers, they 
pressed so closely upon the opponents that the 
drunken wretch gave Bruno a blow with his fist 
ere he could draw his sword to parry it. 

With a low cry of anger, the lieutenant sprang 
back and unsheathed his weapon. 

Fortunately a workman, known to him, pushed 
himself through the crowd and caught his arm, 
while he ejaculated : 

“ Lieutenant' lieutenant, calm yourself and reflect 
that the fellow is not responsible !” 

Bruno unwillingly dropped his arm and slowly 
replaced his sword in its sheath. 

His face was pale as death, and cold perspiration 
stood on his brow, for he realized what he had inflicted 
upon himself in heeding the appeal of humanity. 

Meantime, several soldiers had come to the assist- 
ance of Christian, and no sooner had Bruno ordered 
them to convey the offender to the guard-house 
than Captain Kahlbach echoed the command. 


3 o 8 The Mask of Beauty. 


To know that the hated captain was witness of 
the unfortunate difficulty intensified the lieutenant’s 
chagrin, but, mastering his feelings, he turned 
toward him with remarkable equanimity, saying : 

“ You have been an eye-witness of this affair, sir, 
so have the kindness to accompany me to the 
colonel and give your evidence.” 

“ With pleasure, dear friend,” returned the cap- 
tain. “ But tell me what he has done to you, as I 
don’t understand.” 

These words were spoken in a tone which struck 
Bruno as a new blow. 

“ Since you have ordered the drunken fellow to 
the guard-house, you certainly know why !” an- 
swered he, with forced calmness. 

“ True, true !” was the quick reply. “ You should 
have knocked the scoundrel down at once ! But I 
only want to know why he attacked you while with 
my servant?” 

Bruno knew his enemy’s purpose, and would 
gladly have refused to answer, but, as firmly as pos- 
sible, rejoined : 

“ He insulted — ” 

“Your honored sister?” cried the captain, with 
hypocritical indignation. 

“ No ! He insulted her maid !” answered Bruno, 
casting a glance of irrepressible scorn upon his in- 
terlocutor. 

“ Ah, indeed ! I understand that the fellow spoke 
against the beautiful Catherine — a point on which 
you are easily moved !” was the rejoinder made 
with a wicked, insinuating smile. 


The Mask of Beauty, 


309 


This was too much for Bruno’s endurance. He 
regarded his opponent with contempt and indigna- 
tion, and said : 

“ To smile over the jeopardy of any man’s honor 
is the act of a dishonorable creature !” 

As Captain Kahlbach did not resent his attack, 
he quickly turned away and sought the colonel’s 
quarters. Meantime, his enemy repaired to his 
dwelling. 

Bruno felt that his position was most unpleasant. 
According to the decision of the military law, he 
believed that his honor would have been destroyed 
by having a witness of his degradation of his own 
rank to give him insult without the sequence of a 
duel. Therefore, he had striven to send back an 
accusation, which would call for a hand-to-hand 
settlement. But he was very uncertain whether 
the captain would take and resent the insult, as he 
intended him to do. Mind and heart were in a 
tumult of thought and feeling. He could not enter- 
tain the possibility of demanding dismission from 
the service with his honor undefended. And yet 
he feared to count on the colonel’s keeping him 
there, and thus allowing the chance of a duel with 
Captain Kahlbach, because he had so lately refused 
that gentleman’s request to dismiss Catherine from 
his sister’s house. 

In this way he reached his destination. The 
guard saluted as usual, but he shrank with the 
thought how soon this mark of respect would cease 
forever. So heavy was the burden of unhappiness 
and perplexity that he felt unable to meet the 


310 


The Mask of Beauty, 


colonel. He turned and continued up the street. 
Soon he reached the wharf, where he spent some 
time pacing backward and forward and revolving 
his course of action. He must be most decided 
before appealing to his superior officer — a man of 
honor — to whom any ambiguity or mistake of evi- 
dence would be most unpleasant. 

The atmosphere, in consequence of the morning’s 
storm, was cool and refreshing and contributed 
toward his restoration to self-mastery and reflection. 
When he-once more stood on the colonel’s thresh- 
old all trace of his late mental disturbance was 
removed. The officer granted him an immediate 
audience, and listened with apparent suspense to 
the terse and dry narration of the recent affair. To 
the watchful eye of Bruno, his sympathy was only 
equaled by his satisfaction on hearing the young 
man’s earnest request for his intercession in order 
to effect a duel, which alone could atone for the 
insults so publicly and mutually bandied. 

When Bruno thanked him with undisguised joy 
for his promise, he replied : 

“ I am only doing my duty toward one who long 
ago earned my esteem. I am only fulfilling what 
friendship for you and your family demanded. 
Meanwhile, if you had given more heed to my 
kindly advice — if you had followed it attentively — 
you would not now be in this unpleasant position. 
And I must warn you that in consideration of the 
alleged cause of this trouble you will not be so 
blameless or innocent with your comrades as I could 
wish. But count on me, at least. Count surely on 


The Mask of Beauty. 3 1 1 


my help, just as I count on your removing the 
cause of the scandal if the affair terminates right.” 

With the last words the colonel pressed Bruno’s 
hand warmly in token of farewell, and the visitor 
withdrew. 

The concluding remark of his friend produced a 
new disturbance of mind. For during the expres- 
sion of reproach and insinuation against Catherine, 
he suddenly realized that he could not forsake her 
—that he loved her with an emotion whose strength 
seemed incomprehensible. He did not adore and 
long for her as he had felt toward Marian, but she 
was chained to him with strong links, namely, the 
links of her unhappy fate, which he had tried to 
conquer and had found himself vanquished in the 
fray. 

Full of these thoughts, he reached home. As he 
ascended the house-steps the town-clock struck ten, 
and he saw a bright light in his room. No sooner 
had he rung the bell than the baroness opened the 
door and greeted him with great joy. Her sisterly 
anxiety had brought her downstairs, to be the first 
to welcome him, and, with evident uneasiness, she 
cried : 

“What has happened? Why did you stay so 
long?” 

With a coldness foreign to his wont, Bruno re- 
turned : 

“ Can’t I even take a little airing without your 
exhibiting such care ? This sort of thing is slavery !” 

Eveline drew back involuntarily, and gave her 
brother a searching look. Interpreting his ex- 


312 


The Mask of Beauty. 


treme pallor of countenance unfavorably, she ex- 
claimed : 

“ What became of the man ?” 

“ I had him arrested !” said Bruno, shortly. This 
reply relieved her mind greatly, and the young 
man, desirous of avoiding other questions, asked : 
“ Where is Catherine ?” 

Here, of course,” replied his sister. 

'‘How is she? Is she quiet?” 

“ She was very much frightened and wept bit- 
terly. The old idea of having ‘ no luck in the 
world ’ has revived, and for a while mastered her. 
But now she has grown calm and gone to some em- 
ployment.” 

Bruno was, or seemed to be, contented with this 
answer. But he did not fail to note his sister’s 
want of sympathy for the girl’s sufferings, and. the 
realization drew him closer to his protegee and fur- 
ther from Eveline. He told himself that love for 
him was the sole cause of her hardness, but none 
the less did it repel him. 

Eveline asked anxiously whether he had supped 
—would sup or would go upstairs with her. When 
he gave a negative reply to all, she tried in vain to 
induce him to discuss the day’s adventure. At 
length, in heaviness of .spirit, she rose to say good- 
night. Bruno found it impossible to embrace her 
as usual, and, making excuse of his position, only 
gave her his hand. She left the room in silence, 
to spend a night of sleepless cares and tears. 

Finding himself indisposed to rest, Bruno walked 
the floors of his two apartments, while tumultuous 


The Mask of Beauty. 


313 


thoughts raged through his mind. About mid- 
night, when no sound was audible on the street 
save the soft rustle of the linden leaves, the young 
man heard a slight movement before his door. 
Fearing that some robber had entered the house, 
he quickly threw open the door and stepped back, 
startled by the unexpected sight of Catherine. 

You here?” he cried, as he recognized, not with- 
out pleasure, the one for whom his heart was heavy. 
Then he took her kindly by the hand, and was 
about to lead her into the apartment, but recol- 
lected himself and asked : “ Why are you not 

asleep ?” 

“I?” she replied with a glance that went to his 
heart, while her tearful eyes and tone of voice fully 
expressed all the unhappiness for which she grieved. 
Then he conducted her within the room, and they 
stood hand in hand. 

Don’t weep but take courage !” he said consol- 
ingly, “ It was just as well that it happened so ; for 
it had to come !” 

Yes, it had to come !” she echoed sadly. “Wher- 
ever I come, I bring the shame and ill-luck, which 
lie upon me as a curse and to-morrow morning — ” 
She ceased from emotion, stepped a little in front 
of him and, suddenly falling on the floor and em- 
bracing his knees while she leaned her head againvSt 
him, sobbed. * 

“May God bless you, may God bless you for 
what you have done for me ! I will go !” 

“ Catherine !” cried Bruno raising her from the 
floor. “ Catherine, will you go ?” 


314 


The Mask of Beauty. 


“ I must !’’ she said. 

“Away from me?” he replied, while tears welled 
into his eyes and tender love filled his heart. 
“Away from me,” he repeated opening his arms 
and pressing her form to his breast. The girl 
clung to him for one brief instant with passionate 
tenacity and then breaking from him, threw her 
hair back from her forehead like one recalling her- 
self to her senses and exclaimed. 

“ When the baroness sent me out on the gallery 
to look for your return, I saw Christian. He told 
me everything — I know everything, and you must 
leave the regiment in disgrace on account of me !” 

“ Does my sister know it?” asked Bruno, to whom 
every word she said was as a sharp sword in the 
heart : “ Does she know ?” 

Catherine shook her head in negation and said 
“ I will go — even to-night — and, then, all will be 
well again !” 

“ Well again ?” repeated Bruno, observing with 
terror the mysterious expression of her counte- 
nance. 

“ Yes !” she cried. “ Bad luck came here with me 
and will go away with me. Some people are born 
with a curse upon them and it keeps there. Shall 
I give it to others? The boat cannot carry two — 
it will sink !” ^ 

Bruno stood before her, devoid of power to com- 
fort. He felt the truth of all she said, but his love 
withstood the trial. He knew not how to meet her 
superstition at the moment, for her representation 
made an impression upon his spirits. He seemed 


The Mask of Beauty. 


315 


to see before him a sea in which he must sink and 
draw Catherine after him. With manly resolve, 
he repressed the melancholy thought, and, for the 
sake of his awakened love for Catherine, he decided 
to remain master of himself and of the affair. 

So he embraced her tenderly, and said : 

“ Don’t give place to such thoughts. Don’t speak 
a word about this to the baroness or any one else, 
and depend on me. But, above all, give up the 
foolish idea of forsaking me, for I will not forsake 
you !” 

Catherine looked at him for one instant, as if she 
did not believe her own senses, and then a ray of ex- 
treme delight — rapture — flew over her countenance. 
Her speechless love and trust threatened to over- 
power his resolution. 

To recover himself, he said with a faint smile : 

“ Go to bed, now ! And remember that a good 
boat will not be so easily swamped ; but, if it is, I 
will bring you to the shore, for I am a good swim- 
mer ! Good night, and may you rest sweetly !” 

With the last words, he kissed her more than 
once, and she hastily withdrew. 




CHAPTER XIIL 

Next morning Bruno did not go as usual to 
parade. Instead of that, several strange officers 
visited the house, besides one of his intimate 
friends, so that poor Eveline’s previous suspicions 
of evil received full corroboration. But she could 
not see her brother nor did she dare question 
others concerning his affairs, while the fear of a 
duel, of which Catherine was the undoubted cause, 
grew each moment toward certainty. Hence, she 
felt angered by the sight of the girl, and she could 
not make up her mind to address a word to her. 
That the features of Catherine showed a new and 
peculiar expression made her proximity but the 
more unbearable. Toward noon, Bruno made his 
appearance. At dinner he would not engage in 
pleasant conversation and, evidently, only ate to 
quiet his sister’s suspicions of wrong. 

But her tender love failed not to see his rest- 
lessness and disturbance of mind. At dusk, the 
friendly comrade, who had before come, returned, 
accompanied by another officer, and were closeted 
for a few moments with Bruno. 

Eveline, who had taken occasion to sit in the 
[316] 


The Mask of Beauty. 


317 


ante-room above, with the door open, so as to know 
whether her brother went out with the visitors, 
heard them greet him with the farewell, cheerful 
words : 

“ In the morning !” 

It was not long afterward before he came upstairs 
to take tea with her. He was very pale, but calm 
and ate with good appetite. While supping, he 
asked with interest : 

“ Eveline, haven’t you been out to-day ?” 

“ No,” she returned seriously, “ I have been too 
much concerned about you for any pleasure, for, if 
appearances do not greatly deceive, you have had 
some trouble about Catherine.” 

“ Some,” he said, “ but it will soon be over — it is 
slight.” 

“ Don’t think you will come off easily from this 
opposition,” was the warning reply. “ There are 
some affairs which seem insignificant but cannot 
be ruled, and if we do not yield to them we must 
be crushed under their weight, and — ” 

“ I know your unfortunate theory about innate 
bad luck,” interrupted he, “ and I think it is now as 
formerly just as depressing as false. From it, 
Catherine has suffered more than has been good for 
her or pleasant to me.” 

“Than has been good for her or pleasant to 
you ?” repeated the sister with apparent displeasure. 
“ Why do you thus reproach me T 

“Man is the architect of his own fortune,” he 
returned evasively, “ man is master of his own des- 
tiny. This is true and must be believed, unless we 


3i8 


The Mask of Beauty, 


acknowledge wickedness and injustice as our neces- 
sary rulers. For the honor of humanity and out of 
regard for my own future, I will maintain this 
principle as long as there is a spark of life in my 
body.” 

Eveline did not at once reply, for she was afraid 
to express what lay heavily on her heart. At last, 
she sadly said : 

“ Our relation to each other is changed. You no 
longer trust me. One year and a day — ” 

“ Don’t forget,” he put in, “ that there comes a 
time for every man when he can seek advice from 
no niortal but rely on his own judgment.” 

“ Then a man must not expect the help and sup- 
port of others !” was the thoughtless reply. 

“ You are right to reproach me thus, and I accept 
it,” said he, solemnly. “ I should have had the fore- 
thought to keep myself out of danger of needing 
your support. I was wrong, and assure you that I 
regret it and ask pardon. Be so kind as to believe 
that it was an error of judgment and know that I 
have unintentionally disturbed your mind.” 

vSo far the brother and sister had studiously 
avoided names and facts in their conversation. 
There was a nameless separation between them 
that saddened both. Whenever those who have 
been closely bound together for any cause disagree, 
the gulf is but the wider for their former union. 
But the situation grew so painful to Bruno that he 
reached his hand to his sister and said, in a pacific 
tone ; 

“ Have patience, dear Eveline, and trust me for a 


The Mask of Beauty, 


319 


few days ! And please be kind to Catherine, for 
she is, at least, guiltless of the trouble that has 
arisen between us.” 

A great load was lifted from his heart by this 
overture to reconciliation, and a responsive word 
from his sister would have brought him to her 
arms, but she thrust back the proffered hand and, 
carried away by resentment to the girl and terror 
produced by the certainty of Bruno’s intentions, 
exclaimed : 

“ He who raises a Dulcinea of Toboso on his shield 
cannot make her a duchess, but degrades himself 
to a Don Quixote !” 

The passion and hardness of her voice grated 
upon Bruno’s ear, and with similar feelings he 
ejaculated : “ Eveline !” repressed the words spring- 
ing to his lips, and turning to the door, said, in a 
milder tone : 

Repent of those words if you can !” 

In another instant the door had closed behind him. 

That hour began the domestic troubles. The 
baron refused to accept the usual services of Cath- 
erine, and directed her to remain in her room. 

Full of anxiety and expectation the girl sat 
through the night. Her surprised distress over 
banishment from the baroness was only equaled by 
her hopes of soon hearing from Bruno the explana- 
tion of everything. Not daring to seek him, she 
trustingly awaited his promised aid. The hours of 
the night passed quickly to one occupied with 
thoughts of the recent happy past, and of the possi- 
ble beautiful future. 


320 


The Mask of Beauty, 


All life was illuminated by the realization of 
reciprocated love. She never thought of herself as 
Bruno’s wife — she never took a practical view of 
the future — but she rejoiced that he had pressed 
her to his heart, that he had kissed her, and that 
he had promised not to«forsake her. 

The first ray of morning sunlight that entered the 
window seemed a harbinger of coming joy. Fer- 
vently she fell on her knees and thanked God for 
her great, her unmerited happiness. Seldom does 
a purer, heartier prayer ascend to Heaven from a 
happier mortal. When the girl went out to find 
her usual occupations, she saw herself avoided by 
her former fellow-servants, and quietly returned to 
her apartment. Seated there with her sewing and 
her thoughts, she was content to leave her fate in 
Bruno’s keeping. 

Hours passed away and much running around 
and conversation disturbed the house, so that curi- 
•osity prompted her again to descend to the kitchen. 
The cook reported that several visitors had come, 
but the baroness had declined to see them until the 
arrival of Frau Kahlbach, who was now with her. 

The truth was that Eveline, almost crazy with 
suspense and alarm, hoped to gain some information 
from the old gossip about the charges brought 
against her brother. That morning he had gone to 
parade as usual, without giving her any satisfaction. 

Her heart beat fast as the aged guest approached 
her and, with conventional, apparent affection, 
pressed her to her breast. The baroness was glad 
of the half-minute respite allotted for silent sym- 


The Mask of Beauty, 


321 


pathy in the fashionable world to gather self-posses- 
sion for her questions. The visitor, escaping at 
the first possible instant from duty, exclaimed : 

“ Dear Eveline — sweet Eveline, how happy I am 
that all has turned out well, and that Bruno remains 
with you and with us !” 

‘‘ Remains ?” cried the baroness, as a cold shiver 
ran over her body. 

“He could not have stayed in Dantzig ! He must 
have left the regiment !” returned Frau Kahlbach, 
noting with surprise and satisfaction that she was 
telling news. 

Once launched on this theme, she rapidly and 
zealously related all she knew. She told how her 
son had witnessed Karl’s attack upon Bruno, and 
the latter’s drawing and withdrawing his sword ; 
how he had learned from the colonel, of Bruno’s 
request ; but how he had kept out of the committee 
sent to wait on him, from fear that his intimacy 
with the family might be interpreted as a reason 
for his partiality in decision. She said that she 
had since learned of the decision of the improvised 
court of military justice in favor of , Bruno, and 
that he had been received on the parade ground 
that morning with every mark of esteem and 
honor. She did not know that Eveline had heard 
nothing of all this nor that Bruno had not returned 
to the house, the hour for parade being long past ; 
but she presumed that after the happy termination 
to the affair, the comrades had assembled some- 
where to commemorate the day in toasts. 

Never had Frau Kahlbach paid so long a visit 


32 2 The Mask of Beauty. 


before, for the evident cafe and solicitude of her 
listener intensified the pleasure of narrating and 
lengthened unnecessarily the facts to be conveyed. 

The servant was laying the cloth for dinner in 
the adjoining room, and Eveline, in an agony of 
expectation, rose and looked out of the window, 
before the old woman thought of leaving. 

“ It is late,” she said, as if surprised, “ and I fear 
that my son is at home waiting for me ! You know 
very well, my dear, that we never get too old to be 
under the tyranny of men, whether they be hus- 
bands, sons or brothers ! That you ought to under- 
stand, as Bruno rules you !” 

“ Not that I know of !” retorted Eveline, for the 
first time sufficiently composed to reply to her 
visitor. 

“ Oh,” laughed the meddlesome woman, lightly 
touching her hostess’s shoulder with her handsome 
parasol, “ since the beautiful Catherine has been 
taken into the house and made your companion, no 
sensible person doubts that your brother rules 
you !” 

All the blood of the younger woman’s body 
seemed to rush into her face, as she drew back and 
proudly said : 

“ I think, Frau Kahlbach, that the sight of the 
girl as my companion should forever silence 
gossip.” 

“ What an idea, child !” cried the visitor, more 
excitedly. “ Who ever doubted that you and Bruno 
have acted and still act with the best intention ? 
The colonel truly said that you were idealists — 


The Mask of Beauty.. 


323 


making ,philanthropy a profession — and that all 
your mistakes should be ascribed to your impracti- 
cal ideas, but, none the less, you must change. 
Only reflect that the reputation of a lady and the 
honor of an officer are something remote from the 
ideal. And if this fellow who attacked Bruno is 
put in the penitentiary, as he ought to be, then you 
cannot keep his former mistress in your house !” 

“ Don’t trouble yourself on my account,” returned 
Eveline, freezingly. I will act as I feel inclined 
and as my brother considers right. It seems to me 
that we are old enough to manage our own busi- 
ness !” 

“ Just as you choose,” said the visitor, as she gave 
her hostess a parting pressure of the hand. ‘‘ I 
have performed the duty of a friend, and trust that 
you will not repent of acting differently from other 
mortals.” 

Eveline stood motionless after the door closed 
upon Frau Kahlbach, in a tumult of feeling. The 
revelations of the gossip had produced a stronger 
impression than she expected. She felt resentment 
toward her brother and herself because they had 
brought things to such a pitch, and almost hatred 
toward Catherine, who, innocently, had caused the 
trouble. After what had transpired, she saw no 
help but to banish the obnoxious creature from the 
house. • 

Meantime, the clock struck three, and her brother 
had not come. As he never kept her waiting, she 
could not remain still. Each moment her uneasi- 
ness increased, and, desperately, she rang for his 


324 


The Mask of Beauty, 


servant to learn how long he had been out. This 
person explained that his master had returned from 
parade with some friends, spent a short while in his 
room and then gone out again with them. To the 
question if he had left word that he would dine out, 
a negative answer was given. Then an indescrib- 
able terror mastered her. Unable to remain within 
the limits of her own rooms, she descended to the 
lower floor. Everything in Bruno’s apartments 
was in its usual place. She walked their length 
restlessly, and peered into every corner. In vain 
did she tell herself that her alarm was groundless. 
In vain did she try to believe that Bruno’s resent- 
ment of her rash words kept him from home. How 
gladly would she have thought that her brother 
was acting from spite to her, but knowledge of his 
character denied the possibility ! 

When the clock struck four, she summoned the 
servant and ordered him to call Catherine. Scarce- 
ly had he disappeared, before the same offlcer, with 
whom Bruno had gone out that morning, rang the 
bell. Eagerly the baroness opened the door and 
cried : 

“ Have you seen Bruno !” The man did not reply, 
and she with sinking heart added : “ Where is 

Bruno ?” 

The pale, distressed countenance of the officer 
told more th^n his language as he replied : 

“ I bring no good news. Bruno has had a duel and 
is severely wounded.” 

“ Dead !” gasped poor Eveline, sinking upon a 
chair near by. The sympathetic friend turned and 


The Mask of Beauty. 


325 


wept bitterly. Meantime, a carriage stopped be- 
fore the door, and the officer tenderly led the dis- 
tracted sister away. 

The corpse was carefully removed from the 
vehicle by the physician of the regiment, an officer 
and the servant and laid upon the bed. As it was 
being borne through the halls, Catherine came 
down the steps. Instantaneously realizing what 
had happened, she uttered a cry of woe, pressed 
close to the bed, embraced the dead around the 
neck and fell sobbing on the floor. 

Her loud shriek aroused the attention of Eveline. 
She arose pale, and tearless, and approached the 
bedside. 

Seeing Catherine near her brother, her lips 
moved with emotion but she said firmly and coldly : 

“ Disgrace him not by your presence, for you 
have sent him to death !” 

Catherine responded by a cry of despair. All 
the long — nourished and concealed passion of her 
nature burst forth with a violence which alarmed 
the bystanders. She wrung her hands and tore 
her hair, and in every way showed that she was 
beside herself with grief. 

“ Carry her away !” commanded the baroness, 
shuddering and turning away from her. 

She could not bear to see the girl near the corpse 
of her brother. Thereby, did his separation from 
herself appear the greater. 

When the unfortunate creature was removed, 
Eveline drew close to the body of Bruno and fully 
realized what she had forever lost. Heart-broken 


326 


The Mask of Beauty, 


yet tearless, she looked upon the mortal remains of 
her only brother, to whom years of peace and har- 
mony had bound her but who had ’ but yesterday 
left her in resentment — forever. It was hard to 
know that cruel death divided them. She would 
have given her life for one forgiving loving word 
from his lips, but, alas, it was too late ! 

And it was Catherine who had driven him to his 
death ! 




CHAPTER XIV. 

That evening it was generally known that Bnino 
had fallen in a duel with Captain Kahlbach, and the 
causes were equally discussed with the event. 

It was declared that the captain, after the decision 
of the military court of justice in favor of Bruno, 
tried to bring about an adjustment of his troubles 
with Bruno, but that the lieutenant had made it 
understood that he loved Catherine, and would not 
be satified with anything less than a duel after the 
occurrence in the market-place. Being sustained 
in his position by his second, he had, with equal 
calmness, driven to the place of combat and received 
the death-wound of his opponent. 

In all public-houses, the details of the affair were 
fully given, and thereby the name of the maid of 
Hela was freely bandied from mouth to month. 
But when news of the girl’s passionate grief over 
Bruno’s corpse was brought, no doubt remained in 
the public mind of her relation to the deceased. 
It was regretted that so worthy a representative of 
a noble family should have been the victim of such 
foolish ideas and unusual conduct, and much curi- 
osity was expressed as to what the baroness would 
do with the cause of her bereavement. 


[327] 


328 


The Mask of Beauty. 


Frau Kahlbach did her utmost to nourish popular 
displeasure against Catherine, because her son had 
been taken by the authorities and imprisonment 
was inevitable. This was natural and in accordance 
with her great love for her child. She never grew 
weary of repeating to her visitors that she had 
often warned Eveline of future trouble about Cath- 
erine, and that her son had been willing, from re- 
gard to the family, to avoid the duel with Bruno, in 
spite of the gross insult offered to him in public. 
She complained that neither one could be turned 
from his folly. She thought it dreadful for an 
intelligent woman of forty to sustain her brother 
in an attachment for her servant. Bruno was only 
to be pitied, and no one mourned his death more 
than his slayer, but the baroness was greatly to 
blame. She had only aided the blind passion of 
Bruno from a desire to appear superior to other 
women in mind and character, and her wicked pride 
had brought fearful punishment in his death. 

There were a few of Eveline’s friends who com- 
prehended and honored her course of action. But 
there was no one who reproached her more bitterly 
than her own conscience in the first hours of deso- 
lation and despair. Sometimes she feared she had 
done too much, sometimes too little, for her sisterly 
duty toward her lost one. When mortals confront 
the irrevocable, they are prone to exercise self- 
blame and remorse. 

But if Eveline felt herself culpable, she deemed 
Catherine by far more guilty. In the midst of her 
deep grief over Bruno’s death, there arose a fierce 


The Mask of Beauty, 


329 


animosity toward this unhappy girl. Through 
connection with her his name was publicly disgraced 
and her own sullied. Reproach herself as she 
would for the injustice, she could not repress this 
burning hatred against the girl. It- was not the 
least of her charges that Bruno’s final request was 
for the protection of the friendless source of all her 
troubles. 

The last sentence of a farewell letter found on 
his table was this : 

Be kind to poor Catherine and forsake her not. It was not 
her fault that I loved her.” 

During the first day of mourning she could not 
make up her mind either to see or speak to the girl, 
nor on the day of the burial were her feelings mol- 
lified. She gave orders that she should remain in 
her room and communicate with no one besides 
Frau Beier, for she wished to avoid the possibility 
of another terrible outburst of passion such as the 
strange officers had witnessed from the undisciplined 
creature. 

It was a sunny August morning when the hearse 
drew up before the door to bear to his last resting- 
place all that was mortal of Bruno von Horst. F rom 
her bedroom window Catherine could see the pall- 
bearers with the coffin and the black-robed domes- 
tics leave the house. She saw the funeral train 
start toward the church. As a prisoner she stood 
by the window and looked on, while no one seemed 
to acknowledge her existence or interest in the 
transaction. When the sound of the retreating 
wheels ceased all life within and without seemed to 


330 


The Mask of Beauty. 


expire. A palsy, nameless, and formless poSvSessed 
her being. 

All through the previous day and two nights she 
had shed hot, despairing tears. All through that 
time she had prayed God to take her from the earth, 
where misfortune had followed her from her birth. 
In some moments she had even meditated ending 
by her own hand a life so full of vSorrows ; but fear 
of separating herself for eternity from Bruno by 
the wicked deed always crushed the design. 

But now utter exhaustion of physical powers 
annihilated capacity for intelligent action. Blank 
in mind, crushed in heart, she stood there. The 
future presented no hope — no anchor to her. She 
could no longer weep — she could no longer think. 
Suddenly, the loud bell of the neighboring church 
sounded forth. Its first reverberation moved her 
deeply. Once — twice — thrice — many times — did it 
strike. Each blow was a wound to the broken 
heart, a weight to the weary brain. She knew 
what its tones proclaimed. She felt that he was 
borne away to the grave ! 

A few hours later the house-maid brought her 
some food. Hunger she had none, nor did she 
need nourishment. A sympathetic word she did 
need, but there was none uttered. The girl had 
neither conception of nor power to minister to her 
heart-troubles. 

Late in the evening the baroness sent for her, 
and could not conceal her shock at sight of the 
alteration which two days had effected. She wanted 
to speak to her kindly and show her the interest 


The Mask of Beauty. 


33i 


which her brother’s last request called for, but the 
evident traces of the girl’s despair made the accom- 
plishment of the duty impossible. 

Instead of this suffering evoking the sympathy, 
it brought out the resentment of the baroness. She 
blamed her because Bruno had loved her, and 
shuddered because her brother’s name must be for- 
ever linked with this creature in the memory of 
men. When she knew that the reputation of the 
dead was thus dishonored, instead of the requested 
sympathy, she found it impossible to feel anything 
but repugnance toward the offender and anxiety 
to remove her at once from her side. 

In times of great trial, men will act with fearful 
selfishness. They try to believe that they are 
acting for good, and generally dighten their own 
hearts at the expense of breaking those of others. 
And thus did the baroness. Her first words 
were : 

“ I have sent for you to let you know that my 
deceased brother wrote me a farewell letter, in 
which he asked me to continue my protection to 
you. His request I intend to carry out, but don’t 
expect that I can — as in the past — ” She ceased, 
frowned and resumed more firmly than before : 
“ That you can stay with me longer is impossible. 
I think — after the calamity which you have here 
wrought, after the publicity which you have thereby 
gained— that it will be better for you to seek some 
other home as quickly as possible.” 

Catherine stood as if cut out of stone, except 
that her eyes spoke volumes. The torture of fright, 


332 


The Mask of Beauty. 


grief and despair so plainly expressed in them 
moved Eveline to shame and remorse. 

“ Don’t misunderstand me !” she cried quickly. 
“ I will not dismiss you — I will not forsake you ! 
In spite of all the misery and harm you have 
brought upon me, I will care for 5^ou, and do not 
now say where you shall go. Decide that for your- 
self. If you want to return home — if you desire to 
go back to Frau Deik — ” 

To Frau Deik !” repeated the girl, in astonish- 
ment. “ Why, Karl is in jail !” 

The baroness had not thought of this objection, 
and she was displeased to be reminded of it by 
Catherine. So she replied, with a certain haste and 
warmth : 

Well, if you wUnt to go back to your native vil- 
lage or anywhere else, I will assist you to it. Only 
decide at once. What ’s the matter ? Are you hun- 
gry? You look ill !” 

Catherine slowly shook her head, and returned : 

“ I am not hungry — I want nothing.” 

“ Then go out on the gallery and sit awhile in the 
fresh air. Think about what you want. No one 
can decide for you. You cannot stay here longer,” 
the baroness repeated firmly. 

The girl silently obeyed the command. Then 
Eveline felt reproached for her hardness toward 
the orphan, but could not bring herself to acknowl- 
edge it. Gladly would she have wept and sorrowed 
with some one. 

She keenly felt the absence of this small ameli- 
oration of sorrow to her own heart, and yet she 


The Mask of Beauty. 


333 


was rigid not to mitigate the woe of her fellow-suf- 
ferer by sympathy. 

The habit of strict obedience, which years had 
made second nature, carried Catherine, meanwhile, 
to the gallery. 

In perfect indifference — almost like a sleep- 
walker — she sat down in the usual seat by the wall. 
Her eyes rested upon the steps down which she 
had so recently seen him borne, and upon which he 
had so often gone out and in the house. Once she 
slightly turned her head so that the closed blinds 
of his window met her view. There she sat in the 
growing twilight, without normal will or thoughts. 

Presently the wind sprang up and rustled the 
leaves of the neighboring trees. Involuntarily she 
glanced at the nearest linden, and as the beauty of 
the shade-tree struck her, great tears welled into 
her eyes. The thought of such a tree standing by 
his grave brought her to realize that he was, in- 
deed, lying in the cold ground,, and made her weep 
as if her poor heart would break. 

No sooner was the idea of his burial presented 
than she determined to seek — to find his grave, and 
the desire produced a revival of powers. vShe rose, 
intending to enter the house, and ask where he was 
laid, when Christian presented himself before her. 

Formerly, she had sought to avoid him, but now 
she was glad he came. 

As she paused on the threshold, he ascended the 
steps and approached her. 

“ Good evening !” he said. “ I was afraid that 
you had gone away !” 


334 


The Mask of Beauty, 


“ V/hy ?” she asked. 

“ Because I have been here watching for you several 
days, and you did not come. My' master is taken. 
He gave himself up as soon as he got home. Karl 
will come off ill. He was never much.” 

Catherine listened to him, but did not answer. 
After a little he asked, anxiously : 

“ What will become of you ?” 

“ Of me ?” repeated she, looking at him with as 
much surprise as if he had asked a strange ques- 
tion. 

“ Has nothing happened to you?” he continued. 

“Have I done any wrong?” was the simple 
query. 

“You are the town talk,” he replied earnestly. 
“ Much is said about you, and nothing good.” 

Scornfully she shrugged her shoulders, and after- 
ward said : 

“ Let them talk !” 

“If I were you, ’’.exclaimed he passionately, “I 
would not stay here any longer. I would go as far 
away as my feet would carry me. You cannot stay 
here. A home you will not find — a friend you can- 
not find here any more than in the village or with 
Frau Deik, because Karl is in jail on your account. 
If I were you I would go away in the first good 
ship.” 

“ I am not going away !” answered she, firmly. 

The words, so far from rebuffing him, made him 
continue more eagerly : 

“You have never been to America, and don’t 
know how far it is. There no little birds tell what 


The Mask af Beauty. 


335 


has been said and done here. Soon I will be free 
from service and will follow you. If you do go, 
and if you will — I come after, for if every one 
else is against you, I believe in you.” This he said 
with more passion: “I have always believed in 
you and will stand by you ; as God knows, I will do 
it !” 

She had sunk back upon the stone seat with her 
hands folded in her lap, while he patiently awaited 
her answer. 

Speak !” he entreated. 

Instead of replying she gave him her hand. 

“ And you will ?” cried he, joyfully, while his 
noble, true heart beat fast and his eyes sought to 
read her face. 

But she shook her head sadly as she said : 

“ I have before told you how it is with me, and 
it is the same now that he is dead ! Had he lived, 
he told me that he would not have forsaken me, 
and, therefore, I cannot forsake him in death. I 
have driven him to death and my place is by his 
grave. No farther than there will I ever go ! 
Good night !” * 

She wished to go but he held her back. Her 
mourning for Bruno burned his heart more than 
her hard-heartedness to himself. Disappointment 
and jealousy .choked his throat with emotion. 
Hastily loosening the cloth around his neck with 
his free hand he said in a voice almost threatening: 

“ Catherine, the dead come not again — they are 
gone forever. I have all my life been steadfast to 
you — why do you not take me ?” 


The Ma^k of Beauty. 


336 


‘‘ I cannot, as truly as God lives I cannot ! So 
leave me now ! Do you also want to be killed?” 
was the despairing answer. 

While she spoke, she had put her hand on the 
knob of the door, but again he held her back with 
the words : 

“ Catherine what do you intend ?” 

“ Nothing, nothing !” she answered, but the hand 
which he held firmly clasped in his own became 
cold and tremulous. 

For an instant they stood thus dumb. 

Then Christian said solemnly : 

“ I know what you intend, but if I cannot have 
you no one else shall either here or there. There 
shall be an end and sooner than you think. De- 
pend on that and good night !” 

And flinging her hand off, he moved away with 
rapid steps. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Next day was very cloudy and sultry. The 
whole morning Eveline spent in looking over her 
brother’s papers. Toward dusk, a lady-friend came 
to persuade her to take a little walk on the pave- 
ment, and she accompanied her. 

A half-hour after the two had gone out, Cath- 
erine appeared at the door, robed in a black dress 
and straw hat trimmed in mourning. Frau Beier, 
who was sitting on the gallery, asked where she 
was going. When she replied that she wished to 
visit the grave of the baron, the old woman 
thought the desire natural and directed her how to 
find it. She was kind-hearted by nature and, con- 
sidering herself a sort of guardian to Catherine in 
view of having brought her to the baroness from 
the post-station, she added a warning to her not to 
stay long. 

Catherine gladly gave the promise to obey, and 
rapidly made her way to the desired place. The 
streets were alive with men and vehicles, but she 
pressed on without seeming to see or hear any- 
thing alround her. 


338 


The Mask of Beauty, 


When she reached the churchyard gate, the fresh 
air and solitude gave a sort of solace to her heart. 
Peace and quiet prevailed. The trees seemed 
greener and the atmosphere more invigorating 
than elsewhere. A path led to the family section 
where Bruno was buried. Right and left of it lay 
the green hillocks beneath which so many, once 
alive and busy, were sleeping their last sleep. Most 
of them were marked with headstones and covered 
with flowers. But she spared no time to examine 
these, while there was one new-made grave toward 
which her steps were bent. At last, in the upper 
end of the cemetery where the ground was higher, 
she found it. 

An iron railing ornamented with gilt points sur- 
rounded four hillocks, three of which were covered 
with refreshing green and marked by handsome 
monuments, and they covered the mortal remains 
of the parents, brother-in-law and betrothed of 
Bruno. But his, the fourth grave, was still fresh, 
and the turf intended to ornament it lay in large 
pieces by the gate of the inclosure. 

The grave-digger observed the girl stand for a 
minute by the railing and then enter the section of 
the Von Horsts, but as he judged by her mourning 
that she was either relative or servant of the family, 
he did not think her action strange. It was true 
that he felt a little surprise when she fell on her 
knees by the new-made grave, and with loud sobs 
embraced the mound ; but an experience of thirty 
years in a cemetery had taught him the good lesson 
that weeping is the best and only vent for sorrow 


The Mask of Beatity. 


339 


He turned off to pursue his occupation, and as he 
did so he saw a young soldier passing by, whom he 
took for the lieutenant's servant, as he wore the 
uniform of his regiment. Because it was nearly 
time to close the gate, he called to the young man 
that it was late, and he would kindly inform the 
girl of the fact. . Having the polite reply that the 
request should be granted, the old man repaired to 
another part of the grounds and forgot the incident. 

But scarcely had he commenced his job before he 
heard one and then another shot come from the 
direction he had left. As quickly as his years would 
permit he retraced his steps, and the sight which 
met his eyes was indeed heartrending. Within the 
narrow inclosure lay the maid and soldier weltering 
in each other’s blood. 

The girl was stretched out upon the grave, 
quite dead. The shot had unerringly pierced 
her heart and left her face unchanged. The soldier, 
still living, had dragged himself to her feet. When 
the horrified spectator tried to evoke explanation 
of the deed, he gasped : ‘‘ I could — not — help — it !” 
and almost immediately expired. 

When a little later Catherine’s absence was re- 
marked and inquired into by the household of Bar- 
oness Rettfeld and the news was brought of where 
and how she was found, Eveline was prostrated and 
the servants stunned by the horrible tragedy. Not 
one of. them dared speak of a death for which 
they felt a partial responsibility. 

The chief of police was at onne summoned and 
spent an hour with the baroness. Next morning. 


340 


The Mask of Beauty, 


the affair was published but in a most guarded man- 
ner. A soldier — it was said — had killed his betrothed, 
and afterward himself from mad jealousy. 

Eveline ordered that Catherine should immedi- 
ately be buried among the common people, but her 
grave should be marked by a handsome cross. 
Next morning she left Dantzig, both to escape the 
meddlesome sympathy that would inevitably afflict 
her and to obtain the seclusion which her sorrows 
demanded. 

Christian was not buried by Catherine’s side. In 
a remote part of the cemetery — among those who 
had committed suicide — he found his last resting- 
place. Only once — one single time — was his name 
coupled with that of the girl to whom his love had 
through life been faithful. 

The pastor of Hela received a letter, requesting 
him to convey to those interested the sad news 
that Christian had shot both himself and Catherine. 
The good man took occasion to follow the intelli- 
gence by a sermon next Sunday, in which he plain- 
ly showed to his flock what part they had taken in 
bringing about the tragedy. And while Christian’s 
parents and Frau Deik were shedding bitter tears 
of distress and remorse, he fervently prayed that 
God might have forgiven the sins of both — the 
murdered and the murderer — and that their sad 
end might be a valuable lesson to the people from 
whose influences they had met so untimely a fate. 


THE END. 


A Wax NoveL 


THE GUN-BEARER. 


BY 

EDWARD A. ROBINSON 

AND 

GRORGE A. WALL, 

Authors of ^^The Diskf etc. 


WITH ILL US TEA TION8 B Y JAMES FA QA N. 


12xao. 276 Pagres. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.25. 
Paper Cover, 60 Cents. 


A new and thrilling war novel of intense interest, narrating 
the experiences of a private soldier whose regiment joins Sher- 
man’s army at Buzzard’s Roost, and shares the fortunes of that 
army, participating in all the engagements up to the fall of At- 
lanta. Thence with General Schofield’s command, pursued by 
General Hood into Tennessee, contesting the ground foot by 
foot, the regiment finally joins General Thomas at Nashville. 
The story culminates with the desperate battle of Franklin, 
where General Schofield, with ten thousand men, wrestled with 
General Hood and three times as many Confederates. Vivid 
descriptions of soldier life in camp, on the march, in bivouac, on 
picket, in skirmish and in battle, sustain the interest and hold 
the reader’s attention to the end. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

Cor. William and Spruce Streets, New York. 


A Charming Novel. 


HEARTS AND CORONETS; 

OR, 

WHO’S THE NOBLE? 


JANE G. FULLER. 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY ARTHUR LUHLEY. 


12mo. 347 Pag-es. Handsomely Bound in Cloth.. Price, $1.00. 
Paper Cover, 60 Cents. 


Hearts and Coronets” is a novel in which rank and wealth 
are contrasted with the plainer elements of social life, and are 
shown to be no bar to truth, purity and affection. The plot is 
extremely good, and appeals strongly to every mother who has 
ever looked upon a lovely child in the cradle and considered the 
possibility of its being suddenly snatched away and its fate re- 
maining for years a sealed book. There are possibilities in life 
more strange and surprising than any of the inventions of the 
novelist, and this story, like many others which strike the reader 
as improbable, is founded on fact. It is a deeply interesting nar- 
rative, with many delightful pictures of domestic life and woman’s 
experience. 

F or sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

Cop. William and Spruce Streets, New York. 


An Original Story of Adventure. 


IN THE CHINA SEA. 


BY 

SEWARD W. HOPKINS, 

Author of “ Two Gentlemen of Hawaii f etc., etc. 


WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY PRUETT SHARE AND H. M. EATON. 


- 12mo. 300 Pagres. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.00. 
Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 


In the China Sea” is a story of the Pacific Coast, where the 
almond-eyed Mongolians have a quarter in every city, whence 
they communicate with their kindred of the Flowery Kingdom 
across the seas. The story deals with the disappearance of a 
beautiful girl, who is traced to Portland, Oregon, where she is 
embarked on a steamer bound for China. There is an exciting 
pursuit and search for this beautiful girl. The extraodinary 
things which happen, the sights and people met with and de- 
scribed, in detailing this pursuit and search, render this story one 
of the most interesting and exciting productions of modern fiction. 
It will rank with King Solomon’s Mines” and Jules Verne’s 
wonderful narrations. An unknown people of strange customs, 
manners and appearance is introduced. A great war is started, 
carried on and brought to a conclusion. The invention of the 
author seems to be boundless, and the interest of the reader is 
stimulated by the new and wonderful developments that crowd 
upon one another as the story proceeds. 

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THE COUNTRY DOCTOR 


a JToBel. 

BY 

HONORE DE BALZAC, 

Author of Cesar BirotteaUy* ** The Alchemist,''* Cousin 
Pons,** Eugenie Grandet^* etc,, etc. 

Translated from the French by Mrs. Fred. M. Dey. 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BT WARREN B, DAYJ8. 

l2mo. 360 Padres. Handsomely Botixid In Oloth. Pxiod, $1.00. 
Paper Cover, 60 Cents. 


** The Country Doctor ” is one of Balzac’s greatest creations. 
It is the portrait of an ideal man in a situation where superior 
ability and knowledge enable him to raise a whole community to 
a higher level of morality, prosperity and intelligence. It is a 
study in social science far more valuable than dull treatises and 
histories of social experiments. It is full of human interest and 
feeling and that wonderful realism which makes all of Balzac’s 
works like veritable stories of real life. The heroine is a creature 
of rare beauty and charm. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, post 
paid, on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

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A New Novel by the Author of “ A Priestess 
of Comedy.” 


COUNTESS DYNAR; 

OR, 

POLISH BLOOD. 


\ BY 


NATALY VON ESCHSTRUTH, 

Author of A Priestess of Comedy f A Princess of the Stage f 

etc. 


WITH ILL TJBTRA TI0N8 BY JAMES FAQ AN. 


12mo. 867 Fafires. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.26. 
Paper Cover, 60 Cents. 


Nataly von Esohstruth’s novels are full of romantic sentiment 
that takes one completely out of the ordinary atmosphere and 
situations of common life. There are a swing to her style, a con- 
tagious enthusiasm and extravagance in her descriptions and a 
freshness in the emotions and passions of her characters, which 
command the attention, excite the feelings and absorb the in- 
terest of every reader. All who have read the Priestess of 
Comedy” will appreciate the truth of what we say. “Countess 
Dynar ” is a book of most unusual beauty. The illustrations are 
admirably illustrative of the scenes and characters. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
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An Interesting Novel. 


A SLEEP-WALKER. 

% Nopel. 

BV 

PAUL H. GERRARD. 

ILLUSTRATED BY WARREN B, 2U7Z& 


ISmo. 814 Pagres. Handsomely Boimd in Cloth. Price, $1.00. 
Paper Cover, 60 Cents. 


“ A Sleep-Walker ” is a novel of incident. As the title indicates, 
complications arise from the doings of a fair somnambulist. In 
the opening a mysterious woman is discovered in the act of throw- 
ing a child into a reservoir. The fate of the child and the iden- 
tity of the woman are matters upon which the plot of the story 
turns. Much is involved, and a large number of persons inter- 
ested, and a series of events transpire, all of which go to form a 
dramatic story ot most sensational interest. The story is pub- 
lished simultaneously in England and this country and is well 
calculated to please readers in both countries. 

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on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

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THE LITTLE COUNTESS 


Wt 

E. VON DINCKLAGE, 

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN 


By S. E. BOGGS. 

WtTff ILLVBTRJ.TIONa BY WARREN A PAV2M, 


12]no. 318 Fagres. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Fxice, $1.00. 

Paper Cover, 60 Cents. 

“ The Little Countess” is a delightful novel. It is full of life 
and movement, and, in this respect, is superior to most transla- 
tions from the German. It is distinctly a story to be read for 
pure enjoyment. The little countess belongs to an ancient and 
noble family. She is left an orphan in a lonely old castle, with a 
few servants and pets. Her heroic temper sustains her in every 
trial. The part played by an American girl in the story is very 
amusing, and shows what queer ideas are entertained of American 
women by some German novelists. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

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An Attractive Novel. 


HER LITTLE HIGHNESS. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF 

NATALY VON ESCHSTRUTH, 

Author of A Priestess of Comedy f “ Countess Dynarf 
A Princess of the Stage f etc., etc, 

BY 

ELISE L. LATHROP. 


WITH IL U8TBA TfOHS B Y JAMES FA GA N. 

12mo. 303 Paeres. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.26. 
Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 


“Her Little Highness” is Baroness Eschstruth’s latest book 
and one of the most charming novels that has come from her 
pen. The little princess, who is the heroine of the story, is the 
heir of a ducul throne, which in Germany makes her a being apart 
from the rest of the world, which tends to heighten the piquancy of 
a being so very human and so very natural. Her little highness is a 
little woman from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, and her 
love of Valleral, a gay and frolicsome courtier, is the most natural 
thing in the world. However unsuitable for the husband of a 
princess Valleral may be, the reader of the novel will enjoy the 
situation that the love affair creates. Valleral is a widower, with 
a son almost as old as the princess, and as sober as the father is 
frivolous. The little princess’s fate is bound up with these two, 
and we could not detail all the complications in their relations 
without depriving the reader of the pleasure of following out for 
himself a most interesting love story. 

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on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

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THE IMPROVISATORE ; 

OR, 

LIFE IN ITALY. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE DANISH OF 

Hans Christian Andersen. 

By MARY HOWITT. 

ILLUSTRATED BY HARRY a EDWARD& 


12ma Bound in Cloth, $1.00. Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 


This is an entrancing romance dealing with the classic scenes 
of Italy. To those who desire to behold with their own eyes 
those scenes, it will create a fresh spring of sentiment, and fill 
them with unspeakable longing. To those who have visited the 
fair and memory-haunted towers and towns of Florence, Rome 
and Naples, it will revive their enthusiasm and refresh their 
knowledge. Andersen published this novel immediately after 
his return from Italy, and it created an extraordinary effect. 
Those who had depreciated the author’s talent came forward 
voluntarily and offered him their homage. It is a work of such 
singular originality and beauty that no analysis or description 
could do it justice, and the universal admiration which it at once 
excited bos caused it to be read and reread throughout the world. 

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A Fresh Novel From the German. 


WOOING A WIDOW. 

FROM THE GERMAN CF 

EWALD AUGUST KOENIG. 

BY 

MARY A. ROBINSON, 

Translator of A Child of the Paris hf etc. 


WITH ILUSTRA TfONS BY JAMES FAGAN. 


12mo. 380 Fag«s. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.25, 

Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 


Koenig is one of the most popular novelists of Germany, and 
“ Wooing a Widow” is his best work. The widow in the story 
has more than one wooer, and there is great uncertainty as to the 
one ultimately to win and wed her. It is an exciting story, with 
a succession of interesting incidents in the working-out of an ex- 
cellent plot. It is rare that we find a story from the German so 
well planned and so delightfully carried out. It can be read at 
one sitting without any feeling of fatigue, as the story is inter- 
esting from beginning to end. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

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Cor. William and Spruce Streets, New York, 


A German Detective Kovel. 


THE TELL-TALE WATCH 

(Der Lebende hat Recht.) 

FROM THE GERMAN OF 

GEORGE HOOKER 

BY 

META DE VERE. 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY JAMES FAQ AN. 

12mo. 850 Pafires. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.00. 
Paper Cover, 60 Cents. 


This story is based upon a thrilling tragedy in real life, which 
created a sensation in Germany, and which in the form of a novel 
is equally thrilling and interesting. German novels are usually 
quiet and domestic, and while interesting and charming, are sel- 
dom exciting or dramatic. The Tell-Tale Watch ” is both, and 
will satisfy the taste for a mystery which, in the beginning,- seems 
almost unfathomable. It is a strange story with an original plot, 
and one which will cause difference of opinion, as the sympathy 
of the reader is excited in favor of one character or another. It 
is not a story which any one who reads will consider dull. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

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An Excellent New Novel. 


INVISIBLE HANDS. 


AFTER THE GERMAN OF 

F. VON ZOBELTITZ, 

BY 

S. E. BOGGS, 

Translator of The Little Countess f etc. 

WITH IL USTRA TTONS B Y JAMES FA OAN. 

12mo. 372 Fag-es. Handsomely Boimd in Cloth. Price, $1.26. 

Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 


, This is a most excellent novel. The incidents are natural and 
probable, although uncommon ; and the admirable plot is based 
on transactions in Berlin and in Italy, both German and Italian ' 
characters figuring in it. It is rare that anything so powerful and 
dramatic comes to us in the form of German fiction. The story 
is intensely interesting, constantly gaining as new characters and 
fresh incidents are introduced in the working-out of the plot. 
The character of the Italian lawyer is worthy of the times of 
of Machiavelli. It presents a lovely picture of German, family 
life, and the female characters represent all that is charming in 
girlhood and womanhood. This is a novel which everybody can 
read with pleasure and profit. 

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on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

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Cor. William and Spruce Streets, New York, 


THE LEDGER LIBRARY. 


No. AND Title. 


Author. 


Cloth. Paper. 


1— Her Double Life 

2— Unknown 

3— The Gunniaker of Moscow... 

4— Maud Morton 

5 — Tbe Hidden Hand 

6— Sundered Hearts 

V— The Stone-Cutter of Lisbon.. 

8 — Lady Kildare 

9— Cris Rock 

10 — Nearest and Dearest 

11— The Bailiil’’s Scheme 

12 — A Leap in the Dark 

13— Henry M. Stanley 

14 — The Old Life’s Shadows 

15 — A Mad Betrothal 

16— The Lost Lady of Lone 

17— lone 

18 — For Woman’s Love 

19 — Cesar Birotteau 

20— The Baroness Blank 

21— Parted by Fate 

22— The Forsaken Inn- 

23— Ottilie Aster’s Silence 

24— Edda’s Birthrij^ht 

25— The Alchemist 

26— Under Oath 

27 Cousin Pons 

28— Tbe Unloved Wife 

29— LiUth 

30 — Reunited 

31 — Mrs. Harold Staits 

32 — The Breach of Custom 

33 — The Northern Light 

34 — Beryl’s Husbaud 

35 — A Love Match 

36— A Matter of Millions 

37— Eugenie Grandet 

38 — The Iinprovisatore 

39— Paoli, the Warrior Bishop... 

40— Under a Cloud 

41 — Wile and Woman 

42 — An Insignificant Woman 

43— The Carletons 

44— Mademoiselle Desroches 

45— The Beads of Tasmer 

46— John VVinthrop’s Defeat 

47— Little Heather-Blossom 

48— Gloria 

49— David Lindsay 

60— The Little Countess 

61— The Chautauquans 

62— The Two Husbands 

63— Mrs. Barr’s Short Stories — 

64— We Parted at the Altar 

65— Was She Wife or Widow?... 

66— The Country Doctor 

67— Florabel’s Lover 

68— Lida Campbell 

69— Edith Trevor’s Secret 

60— Cecil Rosse 

61— Love is Lord of All 

62— I’rue Daughter of Hartenstein 

63— Zina’s Awaking 

64— Morris Julian’s Wife 

65— Dear Elsie 

66— The Hunrarian Girl 

67— Beatrix Rohan 

68— A Son of Old Harry 

69— Romance of Trouville 

70— Life of General Jackson 

71— The Return of the O’Mahony. 

72— Reuben Foreman, the Village 

73— Neva’s Three Lovers 

74— “ Em” 

75— “Em’s” Husband 


Mrs. Harriet Lewis 

Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southwortli 

Sylvanns Cobb, Jr 

Major A. R. Calhoun 

Mrs. E. D. E. N. South worth 

Mrs. Harriet Lewis 

Prof. Wm. Henry Peck 

Mrs. Harriet Lewis 

Captain Mayne Reid 

Mrs. E. D. E. N. South worth 

Mrs. Harriet Lewis 

Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth 

Heniy Frederick Reddall 

Mrs. Harriet Lewis 

Laura Jean Libbey 

Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth 

Laura Jean Libbey 

Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth 

Honore De Balzac 

August Niemann 

Laura Jean Libbey 

Anna Katharine Green 

Mrs. D. M. Lowrey 

Mrs. Harriet Lewis 

Honore De Balzac 

Jean Kate Ludlum 

Honore De Balzac 

Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth 

(( (i 

A Popular Southern Author 

Robert Grant 

Mrs. D. M. Lowrey. (Translator) 

E. Werner 

Mrs. Harriet Lewis 

Sylvanns Cobb, Jr 

Anna Katharine Green 

Honore De Balzac 

Hans Christian Andersen 

W. C. Kitchin 

Jean Kate Ludlum 

Mary J. Safford 

W. Heimburg 

Robert Grant 

Andre Theuriet 

Mrs. Amelia E. Barr 

J ean Kate Ludlum 

Mary J. Saftbrd. (Translator) 

Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth 

it ti 

S. E. Boggs. (Translator) 

John Habberton 

Mrs. Harriet Lewis 

Mrs. Amelia E. Barr 

Laura Jean Libbey 

Malcolm BeR 

Honore De Balzac 

Laura Jean Libbey 

Jean Kate Ludlum 

Mrs. Harriet Lewis 

From the German 

ti ti 

Mrs. J. Kent Spender 

Elizabeth Olmis 

From the German 

ii « 

Mrs. Harriet Lewis 

Albion W. Tourgee 

Brehat 

Oliver Dyer 

Harold Frederic 

cksmith. Darley Dale 

Mrs. Harriet Lewis 

Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth 

«< <4 44 


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THE LEDGER LIBRARY=-Continued 





No. AND Title. 


Author 


Cloth. Paper. 


Mrs. Harriet Lewis 

Col. Thomas W. Knox 

Elizabeth C. Winter 

Maurice Thompson 

Mrs. Amelia E. Barr 

Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach. 

W. Heimburg 

From the German 

Capt. Frederick Whittaker 

Jane G. Fuller 

Mrs. Harriet Lewis 


76— The Haunted Husband 

77— The Siberian Exiles 

78— The Spanish Treasure 

79— The K-ing of Honey Island — 

80— Mate of the “Easter Bell’*.. 

81— The Child of the Parish 

82— Miss Mischief. 

83— The Honor of a Heart 

84— Transgressing the Law 

85— Hearts and Coronets 

86— Tressilian Court 

87— Guy Tressilian’s Fate 

88— Mynheer Joe 

89— The Froler Case 

90— A Priestess of Conie<ly 

91— All or Nothing 

92— A Skeleton in the C’oset 

93— Brandon Coyle’s VVife 

94— Love 

95— The Tell-Tale Watch 

96— Hetty; or the Old Grudge — 

97— Girls of a Feather 

98 — Appassionata 

99— Only a Girl’s Heart 

100— The Rejected Bride 

101— Gertrude Haddon 

102— Countess Dynar, or Polish Blood. 

103— A Sleep-Walker _ . 

104— A Lover From Across the Sea and Other Stories. E. Werner. 


8t. George Rathbome 

Prom the French by H. O. Cooke. .. 

Nataly von Eschstruth 

Count Nepomuk Czapskl 

Mrs. E. D. E. N. South worth 


HonoreDe Balzac 

Prom the German 

J. H. Connelly 

Mrs. Amelia E. Barr 

Elsa D’Esterre-Keeling 

Mrs. E. D. E. N. South worth. 


Nataly von Eschstruth. . . . 
Paul H. Gerrard. 


105— A Princess of the Stage. 

106— Countess Obemau 

107— The Gun-Bearer 

108— Wooing a Widow 

109— Her Little Highness 

110— In the China Sea 

111— Invisible Hands 

112— Yet She Loved Him 

113 — The Mask of Beauty 

114— Two Gentlemen of Hawaii.. 


Nataly von Eschstruth. 

JuUen Gordon 

E. A- Robinson and G. A. WaU. 

Ewald August Koenig 

Nataly vou Eschstruth 

Seward W. Hopkins 

F. von Zobeltitz 

Mrs. Kate Vaughn 

Fanny Lewald 

Seward W. Hopkins 


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Every Number Beautifully illustrated. 


For sale by all Booksellers and Newsdealers, or sent post- 
paid on receipt of price by 


Robert Bonner’s Sons, 

PUBLISyERS,g 5 

Cor. William and Spruce Streets, New York City. 




























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